Rahul Bheke holds key to Bengaluru FC’s fortunes

Rahul Bheke, Former player of Mumbai City FC, who joined Bengaluru FC last Summer turned to be a leadership figure and delivered some of the biggest moments in the history of Bengaluru FC

HYDERABAD: As Bengaluru FC brought Rahul Bheke back in their ranks from Mumbai City FC last summer, they added a leadership figure with a history of delivering in the biggest moments to their squad.

Now, less than a season into his return, Bheke has reaffirmed his importance to the Blues, donning an important responsibility in taking them to the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 semi-finals.

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In addition to his defensive excellence, he has netted thrice already this season – his joint-best tally in a single ISL campaign, showing an ability to make impact on both ends of the field.

His latest goal, a match-winner against Chennaiyin FC which took Bengaluru FC into the top-six, was his fourth decisive strike for Bengaluru, putting him in elite company at the club. Only Sunil Chhetri (16), Miku (8), Javi Hernández (5), and Erik Paartalu (5) have scored more winning goals for the Blues.

Simultaneously, Bheke’s composure and reliability at the back have been vital in laying the foundation of Bengaluru FC’s defensive framework, which reflects in the eight clean sheets they have kept thus far.

His passing accuracy of 85% in the on-going ISL campaign is poised to be his highest ever, highlighting his evolution into a more controlled, ball-playing defender – in sync with the team’s overall gameplay this season. With 1,060 completed passes, he has become a key figure in Bengaluru FC’s build-up play, dictating the tempo from the back.

Speaking about Bheke’s influence, Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza laid it down to their plans in the summer transfer window, wherein they roped in other seasoned stars such as Alberto Noguera, and Jorge Pereyra Diaz into the roster.

“We have 5-6 youngsters who are training really well and all of them have a chance to perform well. To train the whole season with people like Rahul Bheke and Sunil Chhetri makes youngsters very confident. Young players should see it as an opportunity to show their potential and take their chances like Vinith (Venkatesh) did,” Zaragoza said. “We want to recover well, be at the top of our game and ready for the upcoming matches. Personally, regardless of any opposition, my task is to do my job to perfection and get the three points for my team,” Bheke highlighted his plans heading into the semi-finals.