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When then vice-president Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, along with some other members, left the Jorabagan Club in 1920 and formed the East Bengal Club, the battle was for identity. From then on, generation after generation, the club and its performances on the pitch became a form of expression for millions whose lives and livelihoods were eternally tormented by the pangs of the Partition.
The generations who followed, knitted SC East Bengal to their hearts like a fragment of their identity. Still, young fans get dutifully absorbed into the fanaticism of SC East Bengal every passing year. A passion so strong, that it would make onlookers feel their life and death depended on it.
Maybe it does. What is life without the feeling of being alive?
For years and for millions of people, SC East Bengal had become that feeling. The only unadulterated, unmolested identity of their cultural heritage that had carried on for years. In the National Football League or when it was christened as the I-League for years, SC East Bengal shouldered the hopes and expectations of millions. While success was often a rarity, supporters stayed on.
Why?
Because they didn't come onboard for success in the first place, they were persuaded by the grit and fight to imprint their identity.
But since the club started its Indian Super League venture in the 2020-21 season, the zeal and passion that supporters have shared has fizzled out. Not for the lack of results but definitely for the lack of trying, on behalf of the management and sometimes the coaches.
To view ISL result, click here.
How Renedy Singh changed the narrative around SC East Bengal for good
SC East Bengal ended the ISL 2020-21 in ninth spot in the points table, tied with Kerala Blasters and just five points ahead of Odisha FC. It was a dismal season. However, complications between the sponsors and owners led to the club committing similar mistakes going into this season. Building the team in a matter of weeks, bringing in foreigners with no prior experience of playing in the country, and scrapping left out players after other ISL teams had finalized their squad.
Hence, the situation only worsened. After 8 games under then head coach Manolo Diaz, the club were glued to the bottom spot in the league standings and were still winless. The management decided to part ways with the Spaniard and Renedy Singh took over as interim coach.
The former India midfielder has made over 100 appearances for the club himself and knows what the badge represents. His tenure rekindled that passion. While he only managed to bag two draws and a narrow loss in his three-match spell, the impact supersedes the results.
When he took over, the odds were quite unfairly stacked against Renedy. His team had foreign players who weren't in their best physical shape, some who lacked quality on the pitch and his brightest attacking outlet in Antonio Perosevic was serving a prolonged ban on the sidelines. But the 42-year-old made do with the cards he was dealt with, most importantly, without any complaints.
In his first game against Bengaluru FC, he fielded a starting lineup with just two foreigners - Daniel Chima Chukwu and Tomislav Mrcela. His boys looked reignited on the pitch. Running the extra mile, pushing for the second ball, and united to the core. They scored first through Semboi Haokip, but failed to cling on to the lead.
In his second match, Renedy's side were able to shut down the defending champions and then table-toppers Mumbai City FC. Another brilliant defensive display. Even in his final game at the helm of the club, SC East Bengal kept Jamshedpur FC silent until the 88th minute before conceding the winner. The game was more prominently highlighted by the fact that the Red & Gold Brigade had fielded an all-Indian starting XI.
Ahead of their game, Jamshedpur FC coach Owen Coyle lauded Renedy for the work the young coach had done with his players. Coyle said:
"SC East Bengal is working their socks off, which has been evident in their last few games. Every one of them is putting their shoulder to the wheel, helping their teammates and I am very impressed with their appetite, their work rate."
Renedy didn't magically manage to lead SC East Bengal to three consecutive victories or anything of that nature. But what he achieved was to give these players, who are playing for a club at the bottom of the ISL table, a purpose. The purpose of fighting for the badge even when the glory is out of sight.
In our capitalistic society, the working class strive every other day without any end goal in sight. The fight is not for reaching the top, but for the hunger to survive. Even when he was failed by the management, Renedy showed how to marshal these players to strive for survival.
For years, people haven't clung on to SC East Bengal in the hope of success, but for their fight to survive. Renedy's brief tenure holistically upheld the defining identity of the club.
