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Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC have announced that they are parting ways with their coach Albert Roca on Thursday citing personal reasons. Roca replaced former manager Ashley Westwood at the beginning of the 2016-17 season. The Spaniard was not effective in his initial days as the Blues' head coach as the Bengaluru based team finished a disappointing fourth in the 2016-17 I-League.
Roca and his boys bounced right back after the I-League season as they clinched their second Federation Cup title (2017) in Cuttack, Odisha. The Spaniard also led Bengaluru FC to the final of the 2015/16 AFC Cup, a feat that was till then untouched by any Indian club.
The Blues showed terrific form in the recently-concluded ISL season, when they finished top of the table, and looked to be the most dominant side in the league. However, they went on to lose out on the title, as they came up short against Chennaiyin FC in the summit clash.
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Roca parting ways with Bengaluru FC is sure to send the Bengaluru FC faithful in deep jitters as their run under the former FC Barcelona assistant coach has been nothing short of a fairy tale.
While the departure of Roca is sure to keep the Bengaluru FC faithful guessing about their next gaffer, Sportskeeda takes a look at the five top managers who could replace the former Blues manager.
5) Oscar Bruzon
Hailing from the city of Vigo, Spain, Bruzon is no stranger to the Indian football fans. He began his India sojourn under Sporting Clube de Goa in the I-League during the 2010-11 season, and led the Flaming Oranje to an impressive eight position in a 14-team team league.
Bruzon got to work in the cash-rich Indian Super League as the assistant coach of Mumbai City FC in the 2015 edition of the franchise tournament. He returned to Spain to ply his trade as the assistant coach of RCD Mallorca in the La Liga 2016-17.
He then returned to India as the replacement for Santosh Kashyap who was sacked from the position of head coach during Mumbai FC's relegation battle. Bruzon helped the Men in Yellow get some key points but failed to save the Mumbai based club from relegation.
Since then, Bruzon has been coaching Maldivian side New Radiant SC, who gave Bengaluru FC a good fight for the top spot in Group E of the AFC Cup. However, a final day defeat at the hands of Aizawl FC meant that Bengaluru FC made it to the Interzonal Playoffs, while New Radiant crashed out of the tournament.
4) Antonio Lopez Habas
Bengaluru's love for Spanish personnel is well known, and former ATK boss Antonio Lopez Habas may well turn out to be a worthy replacement for Roca. The Spaniard has managed 18 clubs in his career, spanning across an impressive 28 years. He has led clubs like Celta Vigo, Sporting Gijon, Granada and Valencia in Spain.
He made his managerial debut in 2014 when he was brought aboard by Indian Super League (ISL) side ATK (then known as Atletico De Kolkata) in the inaugural season of the franchise tournament. He led the Kolkata-based side to the title as well.
Habas continued with ATK in the second season, but could only manage a semifinal finish in 2015. In the succeeding season, another Indian Super League side FC Pune City got him on board. The Stallions finished a disappointing sixth in the eight-team event.
Habas is known for his possession-based style of football, a tactic Bengaluru FC are well versed in, thanks to Roca's two-year stint. Habas could well be the one to help Bengaluru continue their dominating performance, both in India and in Asia.
3) Ashley Westwood
Westwood led the Blues to the league title in their debut season. Bengaluru FC lost just five times in a long 13-team campaign, as they eclipsed traditional giants like East Bengal or Mohun Bagan.
The Englishman from Shropshire in the UK is synonymous with Bengaluru FC. Westwood was the first manager of Bengaluru FC when the Blues were established in the Garden City on July 20, 2013.
Westwood led the Blues to their first ever Federation Cup title to their cup debut as well in Goa in 2015.
The Blues lost out to the league title in the next season and finished second behind eventual champions Mohun Bagan. Westwood continued his stay with the Blues and led Bengaluru again to their second league title in the 2015-16 season, before parting ways with the Blues as Roca stepped in as the replacement in the same year.
Westwood then had a spell with ATK as the director of football in the 2017/18 ISL season. The Englishman is a fan favourite among the West Block Blues, and the fans would surely love to see their former gaffer take charge of the dugout once again.
2) Alexandre Guimarães
Guimaraes has a long and impressive career as a manager. He has taken charge of several Asian and South American clubs like Al-Dhafra, Al-Wasl, Sinaloa and Irapuato, even going on to coach the national teams of Costa Rica and Panama.
Guimaraes made his debut as a Manager in India for Mumbai City FC after the Islanders picked him up in the 2016 season.
The Costa Rican led Mumbai to the pinnacle of the league but ended up losing out on the final as they got knocked-out from the competition in the semifinals.
His second season in the Maximum City was a forgettable one as they finished a lowly seventh in the expanded ten team event. Guimaraes, despite having a nervy track record, could land up in Bengaluru waters as well.
1) Alvaro Rubio
Rubio may sound like a surprise inclusion in the race for the possible replacement for Roca in Bengaluru FC, but chief technical officer Mandar Tamhane's visit to Spain, and his subsequent meeting with former Real Valladolid and Bengaluru FC midfielder Alvaro Rubio got the rumour mill spinning.
Although Rubio has not yet managed a competitive team, his playing experience at Bengaluru FC and in Spain is deemed to be crucial if he is brought on board. He has appeared for Real Valladolid, Zaragoza and Albacete in Spain before his debut for Bengaluru FC in the I-League in 2016.
He had decided to hang up his boots last year, and may well be the man to take charge of the dugout at the Kanteerava Stadium. It is not unknown for clubs to appoint their former players as the manager, and with the kind of legacy that BFC seem to be looking to build, a move back to Bengaluru for Rubio cannot be ruled out.
