In three seasons with Bengaluru FC (BFC), Ashley Westwood, a graduate of the Manchester United Academy, transformed Indian club football.
When he was hired in 2013, BFC were I-League new boys. Westwood, 39, took them to first, second and first, adding the Federation Cup – India’s premier cup competition – for good measure.
But despite leading his team to a title and the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup over the past couple of months, the club’s owners have let him go.
“I came to the country with a blank canvas, tasked with helping to build a club from scratch, improve Indian football and to try to produce some players to go on to represent the country,” said Westwood in a matter-of-fact news release where the club spoke of that great canard – ‘mutual consent’.
“I feel with 3 major trophies, multiple ‘Coach of the Year’ awards and developing as many as 10 players to go on to represent India across different ages, I have achieved all of my objectives.”
With the official I-League fighting for relevance and survival in the face of the Reliance Industries-and-Star TV-backed Indian Super League (ISL), Westwood’s exit is another bloody nose.
There will doubtless be interest from the ISL, and maybe even the national team, where Stephen Constantine’s second stint hasn’t been anywhere near as successful as the first (2002-05).
Given how ambitious Westwood is though, it would surprise no one if he landed a job in one of Europe’s second-tier leagues. Bengaluru, and the loud and proud fans in the West Block, will certainly miss him.
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