"It doesn't matter if you're Sunil Chhetri, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Gurpreet, football is a team game." Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu knows that the team trumps any individual, which is why he took it in his stride when a drastic change happened earlier this season.
Through the bulk of his career for both club and country, Gurpreet has been used to walking out for matches behind an armband-clad, 5'7" tall, no.11.
That's not been the case, especially for the latter part of this season.
Sunil Chhetri hasn't started eight out of 18 ISL games (so far), and Gurpreet has had to lead Bengaluru FC in them. Bengaluru had struggled initially (winning just three in 12) before a six-game winning run in which Chhetri has played just 33 minutes of football.
It's a weird situation for a man who's looked up to Chhetri since his first day at the club, but he says the learning never stops.
"That's what even we as senior players see and learn from him - the best Indian player is on the bench, but it doesn't matter," Gurpreet tells ESPN.
It is under these circumstances that Gurpreet signed a new five-year extension to his contract with the Blues, a club that he has played for since 2017. He had signed a five-year deal in 2018, when, according to him, it was a much easier decision to make.
"At that point in time, there was more clarity, because we could see that the team that we had, we were flying, and there was 100% more chances that we'll win trophies, we'll dominate the league. And we did for that season and the season after that as well," he says.
But now, this is where he sees himself playing his football, this is where he wants to achieve his ambitions. "I feel like that's my job as a player who has done that for the city before. We can bring that back again."
There's one unfulfilled ambition still for Gurpreet, and it's driving him. "I want to play in the (AFC) Champions League, I want to play there for my club rather than moving to a Champions League club," the goalkeeper said.
The BFC turnaround this season
Bengaluru won't be in the Champions League for the next season, at least, but they're now moving in the right direction under Simon Grayson. How has the turnaround come about then?
"Maybe we were being too nice, we were being too naive," he says. "So that was the message to the younger boys, to keep things simple and have a fighter's mentality."
He adds that the senior players also stressed on the importance to have belief even during the difficult spells.
"Sandesh (Jhingan), Sunil bhai and I used to talk about it, kab tak suraj hum par shine nahi karega? (how long will the sun not shine on us?)"
Gurpreet also says the key has been to accept mistakes, and ensure they don't happen again. "One bad mistake a season is allowed, I think," he said. He pointed out how he made a match-losing mistake in the away match against Hyderabad FC which Bengaluru lost 1-0, when Gurpreet flapped at a corner instead of punching it away.
"It's important that you don't repeat the same mistakes, one mistake is allowed, we'll back you through it, but when you've not come out of that mistake, when you haven't moved on in time for the next game, then you're harming the team," says Gurpreet.
"I don't believe in making super saves and flying saves. I'd rather talk to my defenders and diffuse the situation then and there." Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
The goalkeeper also says that it was important to know how to deal with the younger players in this tough patch. Suresh Singh Wangjam for example, was dispossessed in his own half in the lead-up to East Bengal's winner at the Kanteerava Stadium.
"He knew it (was a bad mistake) and we just tried to back him and keep the mood alive and laugh with him about it. And then yeah, just forget it," he says.
Evolution as a senior player and leader at BFC
Gurpreet has experienced company at the back, in India international Jhingan and Brazilian Alan Costa, but he knows his role goes beyond just stopping the ball going into the back of the net. He's even learnt a bit of Portuguese to help Costa out.
"I don't believe in making super saves and flying saves. I'd rather talk to my defenders and diffuse the situation then and there," he says. "I learnt the words 'direita' and 'squerda' (The Portuguese words for right and left) just to tell Alan which side he has to track his runners."
These details are also what he wants the young goalkeepers at Bengaluru (Lara Sharma, Amrit Gope and Sharon Padattil) to see and learn from him.
"I keep telling them in training that I've realized how important the people in front of you are. Those are the ones who will face the ball before you. So its better they face it rather than you face it," he says.
With experience also comes the ability to know when and whom to talk to in between games. Parag Shrivas has had a run of games in the Bengaluru side, in a back three alongside Jhingan and Costa, and Gurpreet knows there are times when he has to communicate that much more with Shrivas.
"I know I can rely on Sandesh and Alan, but sometimes I have to talk more to Parag and guide him. I know these things already, and we've done that in these last six or seven games," he says.
Ambitions for next year and beyond
It's a huge year for Indian Football, with the AFC Asian Cup coming up next January, and Gurpreet isn't happy about the tournament's postponement. "I wanted to play it when I'm 31, not when I'm 32," he says before being reminded he would still be a couple of weeks off 32 during the tournament. "Yeah, but my legs will be 32," is the instant retort.
"My first ambition is to stay fit for January," Gurpreet says. "Beyond that, it's important for us to make the next step, now that we've qualified for the second consecutive time. That's a start, but we can't go there just to make up the numbers."
India will be looking to get over the disappointment of 2019, when they began with a stunning 4-1 win over Thailand, but losses to Bahrain and the UAE ensured they exited the tournament in the first round.
There are some variables involved, with India's current FIFA ranking likely to put them in Pot 4 for the draw, which increases the chances of a tougher group, but it is a challenge that Gurpreet isn't going to shy away from.
"Personally, I think it'll be great because we'll be in season, we would've been playing a lot of games and I really believe that if everything works out well with the group, we should aim higher and look to get out of the group, because that is the next step as a nation," he says.
At Bengaluru too, Gurpreet is hungry for success. "We've won trophies and had success before but that doesn't mean the work has stopped, now other clubs have taken it up a notch. We need to stay grounded, work hard, and believe in our ecosystem because that's what sets apart."
Be it club or country, Gurpreet is in it for the long haul. He knows better than most in this ecosystem that there cannot be any shortcuts to success.