AIFF Super Cup 2025-26: Bengaluru FC ready for Mohammedan SC challenge; Kerala Blasters opens campaign against Rajasthan United

Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza rued the lack of proper pre-season but said that his boys were ready for the challenge, before their AIFF Super Cup opener against Mohammedan Sporting Club at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

“We started the season or the pre-season in September – something that is not so nice, not good for the players or for a professional club. But it is what it is. Finally, we could start more or less on September 15,” Zaragoza told reporters before the match.

“That means that we had about 6-7 weeks, discounting the weeks that the players were in national teams. But I’m happy with what I saw in the training, the friendly matches and how the team prepared. We are ready to go and start to compete.”

Bengaluru FC was among several Indian Super League (ISL) clubs that halted their preparations for the 2025-26 season amid uncertainty around the men’s top flight this season. And after the Supreme Court’s decision in September, all ISL clubs but one – Odisha FC — have started their operations.

Up against the Blues is Mohammedan Sporting, a side struggling with finances and on the brink of closure due to non-payment of salaries to some of its players and staff. The turmoil has led to the Black Panthers arriving in Goa with their reserve squad, making it a David versus Goliath battle.

However, Bengaluru will be cautious not to underestimate its opponent, for it was knocked out of the previous Super Cup by Inter Kashi, an I-League side, and had lost to Mohammedan Sporting the last time the two sides met, in Kolkata.

“We want to play more direct football – overcome lines faster and attack the goal with fewer passes,” Zaragoza said. “Last season, we were solid defensively, but we needed to create more chances and finish better. That’s something we’ve focused on in pre-season.”

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Earlier in the day, Kerala Blasters will open its 2025-26 Super Cup campaign against Rajasthan United in what will be the first-ever meeting between the sides, at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim.

Finishing in the top half of the league, Rajasthan reinstated Vikrant Sharma — who had helped the side earn promotion into the I-League — as head coach last month and will look for a similar fairytale in Goa this time around.

The Blasters, on the other hand, have sorely missed former head coach Ivan Vukomanovic and will bank on new coach David Catala to steer their boat to safety.

The team has signed four new foreign recruits – Dusan Lagator, Juan Rodriguez, Tiago Alves and Koldo Obieta — this summer, and will hope their synergy with striker Noah Sadaoui and captain Adrian Luna can power the side to its first-ever silverware.

“In this short competition, the main goal is to secure all three points from the very start. We have to see how the pitch and the weather conditions are, and adapt to that, but we want to play good, attacking football,” Luna said before the match.

“Regardless of who is called the favourite, in the end, it’s 11 against 11. We have to show a strong personality, strong belief in the team, and a winning mentality to start this season as strong as possible.”

Published on Oct 29, 2025