AFC Cup Quarter-Final First Leg Preview: East Bengal vs Semen Padang
Venue: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, India
Kickoff: Tuesday, September 17 2013, 16:30 IST
Home Advantage
Marcos Falopa has the chance to become an instant hit with East Bengal supporters if he guides the club to the semis
There hasn’t been too many changes in the East Bengal squad since their last AFC Cup match back in May but the highly popular Trevor James Morgan is no longer in charge and has been replaced by Brazilian Marcos Falopa. While the players remain determined to continue their brilliant run in Asia, this quarter-final tie means much more to their new coach as it could make or break his stint at East Bengal.
Falopa has plenty of coaching experience around the world but at East Bengal, he remains in the shadow of Morgan’s three-year consistent reign and the only way to come out of it is to guide the Kolkata club to a historical semi-final appearance. But the Brazilian is still getting used to the Kolkata and the Indian football environment and is yet to have complete control over the dressing room. Despite all that, Falopa will be well aware that he is going to take charge of East Bengal’s most important game in nine years and has to deliver instant results.
On a positive note, the current East Bengal squad looks slightly better than the one which Trevor Morgan left behind especially on the foreigners’ front. The experienced Japanese Ryuji Sueoka has replaced Penn Orji. In terms of quality, that is more or less a straight swap, although they are slightly different players.
The biggest upgrade has been in attack as misfiring Australian Andrew Barisic has been replaced by former Pune FC striker James Moga, who not only has the experience of playing in India but should be able to share the goal scoring responsibility with last season’s top scorer Edeh Chidi.
The energy and versatility of Ishfaq Ahmed and Sanju Pradhan may not have been replaced but the addition of Joaquim Abranches has given Falopa more options in attack. The Brazilian has also got veteran Alvito D’Cunha rejuvenated and Cavin Lobo is also finding his feet after falling out of favour under Morgan.
Falopa’s biggest concern will be the lack of competitive matches ahead of this two-legged quarterfinal tie. Barring a series of friendlies against ordinary or amateur opposition, East Bengal have only played a couple of Calcutta Football League matches, one of which also couldn’t be completed due to bad light.
His team had it easy in both of those games but Falopa was unable to try out his best XI, either due to the fact that only two foreigners were allowed in those matches or because three of his players were away on international duty. Hence, the first leg will be the first real game where Falopa gets to select his best available eleven and considering the quality of the opposition, that is not the kind of preparation he would have hoped for.
Nonetheless, home advantage gives East Bengal a great opportunity to make a good start in this tie. On paper, the Indian club are slight underdogs, but to stand any chance of reaching the last four, they must win the first leg by a big margin or at least triumph without conceding an away goal.
History In Sight
The Indonesian champions have some history in sight as they are in the quarter-finals for the first time, while no club from their country has ever played in the last four of the AFC Cup. Semen Padang featured in the last eight of the old Asian Cup Winners’ Cup two decades ago but this is their debut appearance in the AFC Cup and like East Bengal they have progressed to the quarters without losing a game.
They showed their quality on match day two of the group stage against Churchill Brothers in Pune, when they held the eventual I-League champions to a 2-2 draw despite playing without any foreigners. Semen Padang will take confidence from that performance and will be boosted by the presence of three of their foreigners, including their Liberian top scorer Edward Junior Wilson, who was reportedly a target of Mohun Bagan during the summer.