Kolkata: When East Bengal last qualified for an Asian tournament in 2015 the Indian Super League (ISL) was not worth their time, Igor Stimac was a 20th century World Cup star, Sunil Chhetri had played the first of his three Asian Cup finals, Lionel Messi only had an Olympic gold with Argentina and Pep Guardiola was managing Bayern Munich.
For one of Asia’s oldest extant clubs, that feels like a nine-year itch that just hadn’t healed. So, it fits that East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat would term Wednesday’s preliminary knockout match of Asian Champions League Two against Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr as one that is “very important for the club”. The first step to being regulars in Asia, he said.
Altyn Asyr are used to that. Based in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat, Altyn Asyr was founded in 2008 but have dominated the league and cup competitions since. Runners-up in 2023, Altyn Asyr won every edition of the nine-team Yokary Liga from 2014 to 2021 and the Turkmenistan Cup five times between 2009 and 2020. They were also runners-up in the 2018 AFC Cup beating Caudrat’s Bengaluru FC en route. And like they will at Salt Lake stadium here, it was with a roster comprising only players from Turkmenistan.
“They were very, very superior,” said Cuadrat on Tuesday, raising his left hand above the right. The Bengaluru FC he managed then had Eric Paartalu, Miku, Juanan, Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Udanta Singh. By the 25th minute at home, Bengaluru FC were trailing 0-2 and by the 46th 0-3 before losing 2-3.
Three years later, Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf beat ATK Mohun Bagan 6-0 in the AFC Cup. ATK Mohun Bagan had Joni Kauko, fresh from the 2021 European championship, and ISL stars Carl McHugh, Roy Krishna and David Williams. Barring one, all of Nasaf’s first 11 players were from Uzbekistan underscoring the tradition of football in countries that were once part of the former Soviet Union.
“We believe in our players,” said Yazguly Hojageldyyew, speaking through an interpreter to explain why with no bar in Asia this time, his team hasn’t imported any player. Altyn Asyr’s coach since 2014, Hojageldyyew, 47, also managed the national team between 2017-2019, 2021 and 2022. The team is here after playing a few friendlies during their mid-season break, he said.
In his second season, Cuadrat said he is happy with the roster. It should, he said, help in East Bengal be “protagonists” in all their four competitions this season: Durand Cup, ISL, Super Cup and either this or the Asian Challenge League where losing teams from the qualifiers will get a group stage berth. That would be an improvement from 2023-24 when East Bengal played two finals (Durand Cup and Super Cup) and returned to Asia.
With Dimitrios Diamantakos, Jeakson Singh, Hector Yuste and Mahdi Talal, East Bengal have made key additions in all areas of the pitch. Buying players who can make a difference in the here and now instead of the future has been the recruitment plan, said Cuadrat.
To them add Anwar Ali. On Tuesday, East Bengal unveiled Ali at a well-attended function to mark the 85th birthday of former club general secretary Dipak Das. Ali has joined on a five-year deal. Yuste and Ali were with Mohun Bagan last season making this the first time East Bengal have signed two players from the archrivals since both joined ISL in 2020.
Ali isn’t registered for Wednesday’s match. But he can play in other tournaments even as the players’ status committee of the All India Football Federation deliberates whether he had a just cause to leave Mohun Bagan, an East Bengal official said. Diamantakos, Talal and Yuste too have not trained from July 3 when the club began pre-seasons, said Cuadrat. Nishu Kumar is injured but everyone else is fit and available, he said.
One chance is all the teams will get to be in the group stage of Asian Champions League Two, which replaced AFC Cup as Asia’s second-tier competition from this season, where Mohun Bagan have a direct berth because they won ISL’s league shield. Cuadrat and Hojageldyyew agreed that it isn’t enough but it is better than nothing at all.