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East Bengal start their AFC Cup campaign tomorrow against Malaysia’s Selangor FA, and the I-League leaders have equalled the feats of Jordan clubs Al Faisaly and Al Wehdat of appearing in seven editions. This is also their fourth straight appearance, and they have been involved in some memorable clashes over the years.
Sportskeeda lists East Bengal’s top five matches in Asia’s equivalent of the Europa League.
5. East Bengal 4-2 Negeri Sembilan FA (2004)
It was the inaugural edition of the AFC Cup and this was East Bengal’s first-ever home match in the competition. This was an even better East Bengal team than the one that lifted the ASEAN Cup in 2003, with an explosive attacking trio of Bhaichung Bhutia, Mike Okoro and the late Cristiano Junior. Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan FA were by no means a strong opponent, but East Bengal exhibited some fine attacking football, and in truth, outclassed the club from Malaysia to take all three points. Junior finished as the third highest scorer in the competition, and two of the six goals came in this match as East Bengal ran out 4-2 winners. Bhaichung and Okoro also got on the scoresheet.
4. East Bengal 0-0 Safa (2008)
Despite being a goalless draw, this match makes into the top five as East Bengal held a team that was not only far superior on paper but also the eventual runners-up of the 2008 edition. This East Bengal team was nowhere near the class of 2004, with Alvito D’Cunha, Syed Rahim Nabi and Brazilian striker Edmilson Marques being the only standout outfield players in an I-League campaign where they narrowly avoided relegation. But this side had plenty of resilience and character, and that was evident in the narrow 1-0 defeat in the away match in Lebanon. East Bengal had the better chances in Kolkata and Safa were somewhat fortunate to get a point from this game. This remains one of East Bengal’s best home results and performances in the AFC Cup.
3. East Bengal 4-4 Chonburi (2011)
Trevor Morgan’s first AFC Cup game as East Bengal coach will be considered one of the best goal-fests in the competition’s history. Despite having home advantage, the red-and-gold brigade were the underdogs against the classy Thai outfit for Chonburi. However, the hosts raced to a two-goal lead thanks to a brace from Tolgay Ozbey. But the visitors slowly got used to the conditions and started playing to their full potential and were level before halftime. Two early goals in the second half saw Chonburi complete a remarkable turnaround and create a two-goal cushion. East Bengal needed a miracle to come back in the game and they did thanks to a couple of inspired substitutions from Morgan. Baljti Sahni and Ravinder Singh were introduced in the last twenty minutes and both got on the scoresheet as East Bengal shared the spoils in an eight-goal thriller.
2. Al Wehdat 0-2 East Bengal 2008
As mentioned earlier in this list, the 2008 team of East Bengal was not good enough on paper, so no one gave them a chance in the away game against Jordan champions Al Wehdat. However, under Aloke Mukherjee, who only took charge before the AFC Cup, East Bengal had picked up three points in their two games, and thanks largely to the heroics of goalkeeper Subrata Pal, the Kolkata club recorded one of the biggest upsets in AFC Cup history. Subrata was instrumental in the Federation Cup triumph, that booked East Bengal’s place in the AFC Cup, and the custodian produced one of his best club displays in this game. East Bengal also defended bravely and scored twice in the second half through Alvito and Nigerian Ikechukwu Gift Ibe. Alvito had been East Bengal’s player of the season, and a 35-yard strike in this match was possibly the highlight of the game. This remains East Bengal’s only win in West Asia.
1. Geylang United 2-3 East Bengal 2004
East Bengal’s best-ever performance came in their very first match in the competition nine years ago. Having won the ASEAN Cup in 2003, East Bengal suddenly had a big reputation in the continent as they had beaten Asian Champions League runners-up BEC Tero Sasana to win that competition. So, Subhas Bhowmick’s side had to live up to expectations in their AFC Cup opener, which was away at Singapore’s Geylang United, who were coached by current AIFF Academies Instructor Scott O’Donnell. East Bengal won the game 3-2, with the impressive Cristiano Junior bagging a brace and Bijen Singh netting the other. But more than the result, it was the class in East Bengal’s performance that stood out, as they just raised the tempo whenever they needed to. The embarrassment of riches they had was also noticeable, as they could bring on players like Shylo Malswamtluanga and Bijen off the bench. It was certainly one of the best Indian teams to have played in the AFC Cup, but unfortunately they lost in the quarter-finals that year.
