2014–15 Bharat FC season

The 2014–15 season will be Bharat FC's first season in the I-League and first season in existence.

Bharat FC
2014–15 season
ManagerStuart Watkiss
StadiumShree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex

Background

On 25 August 2014 it was announced that Kalyani Group had won the bidding rights to a new I-League team and that they would base the team in Pune, Maharashtra.[1] On 4 November 2014 it was announced that former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Stuart Watkiss would be the first head coach of the team's history.[2] Then, six days later, on 10 November, it was announced that the team had signed their first player in New Zealand international Kris Bright.[3] On 15 November, Stanley Rozario was appointed as the assistant coach.[4] On 23 November, the team was officially unveiled as Bharat FC.[5]

Pre-season

The club started the season with two friendlies against Bombay Engineer Group, which they won 3–0 and the second one 5–0, courtesy two goals from Steven Dias and a goal each from Subhash Singh, Surojit Bose and Jayashelan Prasad.[6][7] In the last friendly before the season, Bharat FC played against Air India and managed a 2–2 draw with a goal each from Kris Bright and Gunashekar Vignesh.[8]

Matches
January 2015 Bharat FC3–0 BEGPune, Maharashtra
Report
12 January 2015 Bharat FC5–0 BEGPune, Maharashtra
Dias (2 goals)
Singh
Bose
Prasad		 Report
16 January 2015 Bharat FC2–2 Air IndiaPune, Maharashtra
15:30 IST Bright  36'
Vignesh  52'		 Neil Gaikwad  26'
Vishnu T  53'		 Stadium: Bharati Vidyapeeth Ground

I-League

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Salgaocar 20 7 3 10 25 27 −2 24[lower-alpha 1]
8 Sporting Goa 20 5 8 7 22 27 −5 23[lower-alpha 2]
9 Shillong Lajong 20 6 5 9 34 29 +5 23[lower-alpha 2]
10 Dempo (R) 20 3 10 7 15 26 −11 19 Relegation to I-League 2nd Division
11 Bharat FC 20 4 6 10 13 28 −15 18 [lower-alpha 3]
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: IndiaFooty.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match.
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Mumbal ahead on head-to-head goal difference; Mumbai–Salgaocar 3–0, Salgaocar–Mumbai 3–1
  2. Sporting Goa ahead on head-to-head record; Sporting Goa–Shillong Lajong 1–1, Shillong Lajong–Sporting Goa 1–2
  3. Bharat FC were not relegated as they had relegation immunity for two years.[9]

First-team squad
As of 5 January 2015[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  IND Arindam Bhattacharya
— GK  IND Harshad Meher
— GK  IND Shahinlal Meloly
— DF  ENG Bobby Hassell
— DF  IND Bikramjeet Singh
— DF  IND Dharmaraj Ravanan
— DF  IND Gouramangi Singh
— DF  IND Mehrajuddin Wadoo
— DF  IND Nallappan Mohanraj
— DF  IND Naorem James Singh
— DF  IND Sabas Saleel
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  IND Adil Khan
— MF  IND Dipendu Dowry
— MF  IND Gunashekar Vignesh
— MF  IND Jayashelan Prasad
— MF  IND Lester Fernandez
— MF  IND Simranjit Singh
— FW  NZL Kris Bright
— FW  IND Manjit Singh
— FW  IND Rajinder Kumar
— FW  IND Subhash Singh
— FW  IND Surojit Bose

Technical Staff
Position Name
Head Coach Stuart Watkiss
Assistant Coach Stanley Rozario
Fitness coach Lindsay Davis[11]
Physiotherapist Ian Farmery[12]

References
  1. Mazumdar, Rakhi. "Kalyani Group bags bid to launch team in I-league". Economic Times. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. "I-League: Kalyani Group appoints Stuart Watkiss as head coach". IBN Live. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. Mitra, Atanu. "Kalyani Group rope in Kris Bright". Goal.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  4. "Stanly Rozario to assist Watkiss at Kalyani Group's football club". Goal.com. 15 November 2014.
  5. "Kalyani Group names I-League team as 'Bharat FC'". 23 November 2014.
  6. "Bharat FC tackle Air India in final preseason friendly". bharatfc.com. 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  7. "Bharat FC vs BEG - 5-0 - all goals". YouTube.
  8. "Bharat FC close preseason friendlies with 2-2 draw". 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  9. "East Bengal - Bharat FC Preview: Lions' pride travel in search of first win of the season". 15 February 2015.
  10. "SQUAD". Bharat FC. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. https://twitter.com/ILeagueOfficial/status/544432940768174081
  12. https://twitter.com/BharatFC/status/545172296999002112
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