FC Bengaluru United bringing out talent in local boys, says Santosh Trophy winner John Peter

Peter
is
having
a
year
for
the
books.
The
Bangalore-born
defender
who
plays
for
FC
Bengaluru
United
was
a
key
component
of
the Karnataka
State Football
team
that
brought
home
the
Santosh
Trophy
after
55
years.

He
followed
it
up
with
a
successful
campaign
in
the
recently
recommenced
Stafford
Challenge
Cup,
where
FC
Bengaluru
emerged
as
the
first
Champions
in
over
30
years.

He
has
been
a
consistent
part
of
the
rapidly
growing
football
ecosystem
in
Karnataka.
With
appearances
in
5
editions
of
the
Santosh
Trophy,
despite
being
only
26,
he
is
almost
a
veteran.

Peter
shared
his
thoughts
on
the
Santosh
Trophy
Campaign,
The
Stafford
Cup
success,
his
experience
at
FCBU,
the
impact
of
professional
teams
like
FCBU
on
the
Karnataka
Football
circuit
and
his
thoughts
on his
team’s
prospects
at the
Hero
2nd
Division
I
League
Qualifiers
that
is
currently
underway
in
Bengaluru. 

With
both Trophies under
his
belt,
Peter
says
his
confidence
is
at
an all-time high
“I
am
feeling
very
confident
after
the
Santosh
Trophy
and
the
Stafford
Cup.
I
think
we
played
very
well
in
the
Stafford
Cup
and
we
definitely
have
what
it
takes
to
succeed
in
the
Hero
2nd
Division
I
league
qualifiers.” 

Reflecting
on
their
loss
against Bengaluru
FC in
their
first
clash
of
the
I-league
qualifiers
campaign
he
said,
“Sometimes
when
a
new
tournament
starts,
it
takes
some
time
for
the
team
to
settle,
but
now
the
boys
are
settled
down
and
feel
confident.” 

He further
credited
new
coach Fernando
Varela
for
keeping
the
squad’s
morale
high,
“We
have
been
spending
a
lot
of
time
reviewing
our
errors
from
the
previous
game
with
Coach,
and
hopefully
we
can
execute
based
on
the
lessons
we
learned
from our first
game.
I
think
Coach
has
really
motivated
us
to
keep
moving
forward.” 

Peter joined
FCBU
in
January
this
year
and
he
attributed
his swift
acclimatisation
to
the
team
management,
“The
coaches,
the players,
the
support
staff
and the
management
have
been
doing a tremendous
job
of
making
players
feel
at home. Our
bond
as
a
unit
is
strengthening
with
each
passing
day.”

 Peter
has
played
in
the Karnataka
Super Division
for
several
years
but
opines
that
his
time
in
FC
Bengaluru
United
feels
different,
primarily
because
the
players
are
empowered
with
all
the
modern-day
resources
they
need. 

“The
atmosphere
is
very
different;
“I
feel
like
I
am
in
an
ISL
club.
The
level
of
professionalism
is
very
high.
There
is
a
huge
focus
on
recovery,
physiotherapy,
nutrition
and
mindset.
I
have
been
at State Champion
clubs
in
the
past,
but
nothing
like
this.” 

In
the
past
few
years,
Karnataka
have
featured
as
semi-finalists in
the
Santosh
Trophy.
This
year,
they
finally
broke through
to
bring
home
the
coveted
National
Championship
and
John
feels
this
is
a
result
of a strong
local
circuit
of
football
teams
and
in
particular
the
quality
of
local
players
in
the
state.

“The
Karnataka
Super
Division
has
become
extremely
competitive,
there
are
no
games
that
you
can
take
for
granted.
Teams
like
FCBU
really
contribute
towards
this
level
of
competition,
this
year
we
have
around
seven
or
eight
boys
from
Bangalore
on
the
team
and
FCBU
is
doing
a
great
job
of
bringing
out
the
talent
in
local
boys
and
giving
them
a
platform
to
perform.” 

He
further
emphasized
that
when
the
players
are
exposed
to
the
level
of
professionalism
in
FCBU,
it
serves
as
a
knowledge
transfer
that
has
a trickle-down effect
across
the ecosystem.

“The whole
squad
is
learning
so
much
and
this
knowledge
is
something
that
we
will
take
with
us
if
we
move
on
to
other
clubs.
This
year
the
Karnataka
State
Team
operated
optimally,
“there
was
a
huge
focus
on
things
like
recovery,
motivation
and
mindset.
I
think
this
because
clubs
like
FCBU
push
the
bar
higher
and
higher” 

FCBU
will resume
their
HERO
2nd Division I-League campaign against
RKM
FC
on
the
18th of March
at
the
Bangalore
Football
Stadium.