Going back to an old club is always special: Westwood Ashley Westwood doesn’t distinctly remember the last time he was in the dugout at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. “Would have been the final game of the season when we won,” he tells Sportstar.
The ‘we’ here is Bengaluru FC, a club he helmed with distinction for three campaigns from 2013 to 2016 – winning the erstwhile I-League twice and the Federation Cup once – and the same club that he will return to this Saturday, albeit as the coach of Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League.
Westwood’s final match in the Garden City came exactly a decade ago, in April 2016, during a 2-1 win over Lao Toyota to seal a AFC Cup round-of-16 berth. Funnily, Westwood was sent off in that match. Ten days earlier, in his final home fixture in the I-League, BFC had beaten Salgaocar FC 2-0 to clinch a second National crown in three seasons.
“Bangalore is full of fond memories,” Westwood says. “Winning the league is one and there was an open-top bus ride after that which remains fresh. Christmas with the players, fancy dress, and then winning the league again in the third season…
“But what I remember the most is the 1-1 draw against Mohun Bagan in the final match of the second season… and lose the title. We could have won three out of three. I remember the disappointments more than the achievements, but success is always a fond memory.”
When Westwood took over, BFC was brand new. It was also his first full-time managerial job. But in three seasons, the franchise had become a benchmark – for both professionalism and achievement.
ALSO READ: India exits AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 despite beating Chinese Taipei
In fact, the Englishman’s final game was the 3-2 away win over Hong Kong side Kitchee that helped earn a maiden AFC Cup quarterfinal slot. Five months later, under Spaniard Albert Roca, BFC reached the final, a first for an Indian club.
“When we started, we didn’t have much,” Westwood recalls. “We had a very small playing squad, and but for some signings like Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh, the rest were those who couldn’t get a club. Budget was also low. So growing a club from scratch is something that stands you in good stead.”
At Blasters too he has to start from scratch, but only results-wise. After seven contests, the outfit is 13th in a 14-team ISL (one point) compared to BFC’s joint-second position (14). Nonetheless, BFC-Blasters remains one of the fiercest rivalries, and Westwood will experience this first hand.
“I am well aware of the rivalry… between two of the biggest clubs in southern India. For me though, it is about getting our fans to enjoy some good football, regardless of who we play.
“But going back to an old club is always special. I did that many times as a player. Now I am going to do that as a coach.”
Published on Apr 08, 2026
#club #special #Westwood
Ashley Westwood doesn’t distinctly remember the last time he was in the dugout at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. “Would have been the final game of the season when we won,” he tells Sportstar.
The ‘we’ here is Bengaluru FC, a club he helmed with distinction for three campaigns from 2013 to 2016 – winning the erstwhile I-League twice and the Federation Cup once – and the same club that he will return to this Saturday, albeit as the coach of Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League.
Westwood’s final match in the Garden City came exactly a decade ago, in April 2016, during a 2-1 win over Lao Toyota to seal a AFC Cup round-of-16 berth. Funnily, Westwood was sent off in that match. Ten days earlier, in his final home fixture in the I-League, BFC had beaten Salgaocar FC 2-0 to clinch a second National crown in three seasons.
“Bangalore is full of fond memories,” Westwood says. “Winning the league is one and there was an open-top bus ride after that which remains fresh. Christmas with the players, fancy dress, and then winning the league again in the third season…
“But what I remember the most is the 1-1 draw against Mohun Bagan in the final match of the second season… and lose the title. We could have won three out of three. I remember the disappointments more than the achievements, but success is always a fond memory.”
When Westwood took over, BFC was brand new. It was also his first full-time managerial job. But in three seasons, the franchise had become a benchmark – for both professionalism and achievement.
ALSO READ: India exits AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 despite beating Chinese Taipei
In fact, the Englishman’s final game was the 3-2 away win over Hong Kong side Kitchee that helped earn a maiden AFC Cup quarterfinal slot. Five months later, under Spaniard Albert Roca, BFC reached the final, a first for an Indian club.
“When we started, we didn’t have much,” Westwood recalls. “We had a very small playing squad, and but for some signings like Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh, the rest were those who couldn’t get a club. Budget was also low. So growing a club from scratch is something that stands you in good stead.”
At Blasters too he has to start from scratch, but only results-wise. After seven contests, the outfit is 13th in a 14-team ISL (one point) compared to BFC’s joint-second position (14). Nonetheless, BFC-Blasters remains one of the fiercest rivalries, and Westwood will experience this first hand.
“I am well aware of the rivalry… between two of the biggest clubs in southern India. For me though, it is about getting our fans to enjoy some good football, regardless of who we play.
“But going back to an old club is always special. I did that many times as a player. Now I am going to do that as a coach.”
Published on Apr 08, 2026
![Vox Creative, Roku debut new docuseries on history of American soccer The history of American soccer has spanned well over 120 years, and to date there hasn’t been many opportunities to look back at that history. With the 2026 World Cup about a month away, we now have a chance to do just that. Yesterday, SB Nation collaborated with Vox Creative and Roku to release Soccer Meets America, a 3-part docuseries that focuses on the rise of soccer in the United States.Soccer Meets America focuses around the meteoric rise in popularity, from the North American Soccer League days of the 1970s and 1980s to the 1984 Olympics, leading up to the 1994 World Cup. At the center of that history was Alan Rothenberg, who served as soccer commissioner for the 1984 Olympics, the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation from 1990 to 1998, and the CEO of the 1994 World Cup. He also had a hand in the start of Major League Soccer, adding women’s soccer to the Olympic program in 1996, and bringing the 1999 Women’s World Cup to the United States.Rothenberg recently released a new book entitled The Big Bounce: The Surge that Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer. In the book, Rothenberg gives an inside account at how American soccer went from the days where leagues were not organized and fizzled quickly to some of the success we have today with leagues like Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the United Soccer Leagues. He details his firsthand knowledge of what it took for the United States to host a successful soccer tournament at the 1984 Olympics, how the nation won the bid to host the 1994 World Cup, and how he was able to organize the federation to get everything done and push the game forward. He recently sat down for an interview on the USA Soccercast, and in that interview, he mentioned that the rise in popularity of the game wasn’t based on one big moment, but a sustained buildup of momentum.“[American soccer] sort of grew when I was starting in 1990,” Alan Rothenberg, former U.S. Soccer president and CEO of the 1994 World Cup, said in an interview for the USA Soccercast. “I had a glimpse of it back in the 70s when we had a team in Los Angeles ,and obviously the Cosmos set the world on fire at that time with Pelé and [Franz] Beckebauer…you had Giants Stadium. So there were those glimpses of what the future could hold. But as we started to build the soccer federation, our [1994] World cup team and the World cup organization, it just started to accelerate. So there wasn’t one ‘a ha!’ moment.”Soccer Meets America takes the unique yet unexpected path of professional soccer in the United States andn gives the story some definition. Through people like Rothenberg, we see that the history is shaped by chance, persistence, and communities that kept the game alive long before it found mainstream recognition. Starting with the sport’s deep roots in immigrant communities in the 1920s, each episode of the docuseries explores soccer on a personal and professional level. Both nostalgic and forward-facing, the series features a variety of influential figures in American soccer and aims to resonate with new and old fans of the sport alike.But there’s also the legacy of the 2026 World Cup, which will be different from what it was in 1994. “Well, obviously we’re starting from a different baseline,” Rothenberg said. “We started at virtually zero back in [1990], and now we’re starting from level 60 or 75…so the dramatic consequences will not be the same as they were after 94, but I think it’s going to be a huge spike in interest in the sport at all levels.”To grow the history, you must learn from it. And Soccer Meets America gives you a review of America’s soccer history and strengthes the foundations from which the sport’s culture and passion were created. As we approach the World Cup, that knowledge will be essential to craft the legacy that will carry long after the tournament ends. #Vox #Creative #Roku #debut #docuseries #history #American #soccer](https://i3.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/gettyimages-2273772608.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.740350081171%2C100%2C78.519299837658&w=1200&ssl=1 "Vox Creative, Roku debut new docuseries on history of American soccer The history of American soccer has spanned well over 120 years, and to date there hasn’t been many opportunities to look back at that history. With the 2026 World Cup about a month away, we now have a chance to do just that. Yesterday, SB Nation collaborated with Vox Creative and Roku to release Soccer Meets America, a 3-part docuseries that focuses on the rise of soccer in the United States.Soccer Meets America focuses around the meteoric rise in popularity, from the North American Soccer League days of the 1970s and 1980s to the 1984 Olympics, leading up to the 1994 World Cup. At the center of that history was Alan Rothenberg, who served as soccer commissioner for the 1984 Olympics, the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation from 1990 to 1998, and the CEO of the 1994 World Cup. He also had a hand in the start of Major League Soccer, adding women’s soccer to the Olympic program in 1996, and bringing the 1999 Women’s World Cup to the United States.Rothenberg recently released a new book entitled The Big Bounce: The Surge that Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer. In the book, Rothenberg gives an inside account at how American soccer went from the days where leagues were not organized and fizzled quickly to some of the success we have today with leagues like Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the United Soccer Leagues. He details his firsthand knowledge of what it took for the United States to host a successful soccer tournament at the 1984 Olympics, how the nation won the bid to host the 1994 World Cup, and how he was able to organize the federation to get everything done and push the game forward. He recently sat down for an interview on the USA Soccercast, and in that interview, he mentioned that the rise in popularity of the game wasn’t based on one big moment, but a sustained buildup of momentum.“[American soccer] sort of grew when I was starting in 1990,” Alan Rothenberg, former U.S. Soccer president and CEO of the 1994 World Cup, said in an interview for the USA Soccercast. “I had a glimpse of it back in the 70s when we had a team in Los Angeles ,and obviously the Cosmos set the world on fire at that time with Pelé and [Franz] Beckebauer…you had Giants Stadium. So there were those glimpses of what the future could hold. But as we started to build the soccer federation, our [1994] World cup team and the World cup organization, it just started to accelerate. So there wasn’t one ‘a ha!’ moment.”Soccer Meets America takes the unique yet unexpected path of professional soccer in the United States andn gives the story some definition. Through people like Rothenberg, we see that the history is shaped by chance, persistence, and communities that kept the game alive long before it found mainstream recognition. Starting with the sport’s deep roots in immigrant communities in the 1920s, each episode of the docuseries explores soccer on a personal and professional level. Both nostalgic and forward-facing, the series features a variety of influential figures in American soccer and aims to resonate with new and old fans of the sport alike.But there’s also the legacy of the 2026 World Cup, which will be different from what it was in 1994. “Well, obviously we’re starting from a different baseline,” Rothenberg said. “We started at virtually zero back in [1990], and now we’re starting from level 60 or 75…so the dramatic consequences will not be the same as they were after 94, but I think it’s going to be a huge spike in interest in the sport at all levels.”To grow the history, you must learn from it. And Soccer Meets America gives you a review of America’s soccer history and strengthes the foundations from which the sport’s culture and passion were created. As we approach the World Cup, that knowledge will be essential to craft the legacy that will carry long after the tournament ends. #Vox #Creative #Roku #debut #docuseries #history #American #soccer")
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