Bengaluru FC on Wednesday announced the signing of right-back Rino Anto from the Kerala Blasters. The club confirmed that Anto has signed a two-year deal with the Blues for the upcoming Indian Super League season.
He's #HomeAgain. pic.twitter.com/PYB2X9SWEw
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) June 6, 2018
The decision to sign Anto comes after Bengaluru FC sent another fullback in their squad, Subashish Bose, to Mumbai City FC and have listed Anto as a direct replacement for Subashish.
Anto, who was born in Thrissur, Kerala, is now returning for his second stint at Bengaluru FC. He first joined the club back in 2013 and made 57 I-League appearances for the club before being loaned out to ISL team Atletico de Kolkata in 2015. He made 13 appearances for ATK in 2015 before returning to Bengaluru FC. Following his return, he was immediately loaned once again to an ISL team, this time, his hometown team Kerala Blasters. After making three appearances with the team in 2016, the loan was made permanent for the 2017/18 edition of the ISL.
Bengaluru FC enjoyed a fantastic run in the last edition of the ISL and will be looking to go one step further in the 2018/19 season. The team finished top of the table at the end of the group stages and went on to make the final before losing to Chennaiyin FC. Following the heartbreaking ISL loss, the players redeemed themselves with a dominant showing at the inaugural Hero Super Cup. Bengaluru FC won the trophy after beating East Bengal convincingly in the finals.
Bengaluru FC has witnessed tremendous growth in the team since its inception in 2013. The team has won two out of the four times it was part of the I-League and also won the Federation Cup once, before joining the ISL last season.