AFC Cup: India’s two representatives need something special to reach knockouts

There is a feeling among a section of Indian football fans (mostly East Bengal followers) that Pune FC don’t deserve to feature in this year’s AFC Cup because of their poor form since November. The Red Lizards have won only one of their last ten games with the latest setback coming in the AFC Champions League qualifying playoff where they suffered a 3-0 home defeat against Vietnam’s Hanoi T&T.

Many of those fans have been voicing their opinion on social media networks about Pune’s exclusion citing that Mike Snoei’s side don’t have the personnel to perform well in their maiden AFC Cup appearance. In truth those fans don’t have a case at all because Pune thoroughly deserve their AFC Cup slot and more importantly everyone is expected to follow the rules. Stranglely some of those East Bengal fans possibly have forgotten that the red-and-gold brigade have had three winless AFC Cup campaigns, two of which ended with all-loss records.

But Pune’s form is certainly a concern as they have lost four of their last five and the defensive solidity that they showed at the early stages of the season has gone away completely with no clean sheets since the start of November.

India’s other representative in this years’ AFC Cup, newly-crowned Federation Cup champions Churchill Brothers, are on the way up again but let’s not forget that they have been poor in the I-League with relegation still remaining a possibility. The Red Machines have managed just two wins from 13 games so despite the first silverware of the season, their real challenge is beating the drop from the highly competitive I-League.

Newly-crowned Federation Cup champions Churchill Brothers still have their work cut out in the I-League relegation battle

History suggests that Indian clubs who have struggled in the domestic league or been in poor form have rarely gone on to make it past the AFC Cup group stage.

Historical reference

Back in the 2005-06 National Football League, defending champions Dempo made a horrendous start with just one win from their opening seven games. In the AFC Cup they were in a group comprising only three teams but finished second with four points from as many matches and got eliminated.

The following season Mohun Bagan were struggling in the domestic league with seven points from as many games but had qualified for the AFC Cup because of their Federation Cup triumph. The Mariners were second in their group with 11 points from six games but back then only the two best second-placed teams from six groups made it to the knockouts and the Kolkata giants narrowly missed out.

East Bengal were involved in a relegation battle in the inaugural edition of the I-League in 2007-08 but earned a berth in the AFC Cup as they had won the Federation Cup. The red-and-gold brigade didn’t have the strength in depth to compete in a continental competition but fortunately the domestic season was over by the time they played in the AFC Cup. Predictably they bowed out from the group stage but managed a couple of wins including a famous 2-0 away success over Jordan’s Al Wehdat.

Despite their struggles in the I-League, Dempo made it past the AFC Cup group stage in 2009

Dempo in 2009 proved to be the only exception as they reached the last 16 despite struggling in the I-League. Going into the AFC Cup, Dempo were 15 points behind the I-League leaders with just six wins from their first 17 games. But Armando Colaco’s side showed great form in the continental competition as they finished second in a group comprising three West Asian clubs – Al Majd (Syria), Al Muharraq (Bahrain) and Al Faisaly – to enter the knockouts.

The last example of a struggling I-League team featuring in the AFC Cup was in 2010 when relegation-threatened and newly-crowned Federation Cup champions East Bengal were drawn along with three West Asian teams. Unlike in 2008, the Kolkata club had to play both the I-League and AFC Cup besides having some local league assignments as well. The fixture list was just too demanding and East Bengal, coached by Belgian Philippe De Ridder back then, lost each of their six games.

I-League remains priority

So clearly one can understand why Churchill Brothers coach Mariano Dias has prioritised the I-League battle for survival over the club’s second straight AFC Cup appearance. The Goan club look stronger with the additions of Abdelhamid Shabana and Anthony Wolfe while newly-signed Costa Rican striker Cristian Lagos should give their attack more quality. A foreign central defender is also expected to be signed soon but one can only expect weakened team selections from Dias just like last season.

Pune FC’s squad lacks experience

Pune don’t have the strength in depth to do well in both the AFC Cup and I-League so Dutch coach Snoei might give more importance to the domestic league, which they could still win. The majority of the squad will be making their debut in the AFC Cup while the foreigners are either out of form or just haven’t been good enough. They badly need a foreign central forward but even signing one such player may not be enough to reach the round of 16.

Encouragingly Indian clubs nowadays are drawn with south-east Asian teams – Group E: Persipura Jayapura (Indonesia), Home United (Singapore), New Radiant (Maldives), Churchill Brothers & Group H: Tampines Rovers (Singapore), Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar), Pune FC, Kitchee (Hong Kong) – so that will give some hope to both Pune and Churchill Brothers as the difference with clubs from West Asia is immense.But neither of those clubs look good enough to make it past the group stage.

Only on three previous editions (2005, 2006 & 2012) India haven’t had any representation in the AFC Cup knockout stage and barring something special, 2014 will be added to that list.