Can the Alex Lima Jordan O'Doherty's combination bring success to East Bengal?
Indian Super League outfit East Bengal recently roped in Alex Lima and Jordan O'Doherty on one-year deals. They have come in as replacements for Fran Sota and Darren Sidoel.
Both are good additions to the East Bengal squad. The club recruited them upon the recommendation of their coach. Both are expected to be pivotal to coach Stephen Constantine's style of play.
East Bengal FC are one of the most successful football clubs in India. They've won three NFL (later renamed I-League) titles and eight Federation Cups.
They were just the second Indian team to reach the AFC Cup semi-finals and were the only Indian club to win an international trophy (ASEAN Cup 2003).
East Bengal are also noted for providing a platform to young, talented Indian players. Some of these players have gone on to become Indian footballing legends.
Famous names on the list include Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Subrata Pal, and many more.
However, the Red and Golds have struggled in recent seasons. They finished eighth and tenth in the ISl in the two seasons they have been part of the marquee league.
They're hoping to put together a strong team capable of competing for the championship and living up to their reputation this time around.
Jordan O'Doherty was a member of the Australian U-23 team
Alex Lima started his footballing career for Gremio Mauaense. He later went on to play for FC Wohlen, FC Gossau, Chicago, Houston, Suwon FC and Anyang.
In 2020 he moved to India, signing for Hero ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC. He has the experience of playing 153 MLS matches, scoring 12 goals in them. He was included in the K League 2 team of the year in 2019. He won the prestigious ISL League Shield with Jamshedpur FC in 2022.
Jordan O'Doherty started his footballing career for Adelaide United. He later joined Western Sydney Wanderers in 2018. He played 35 matches for them, scoring two goals.
He was with the Newcastle Jets last season for whom he played 23 matches. He has also turned out five times in the AFC Champions league. O'Doherty was an important member of the Australian U-23 squad.
Jordan and Alex Lima combination can create threat for the opponent defense
Jordan O'Doherty is most likely to be used as an attacking midfielder while Alex Lima will be used as a pivot between defense and attack. Stephen Constantine relies on counter-attacks to score goals and Jordan can be a perfect to faciliate that strategy due to his speed.
O'Doherty is also famous on the Australian football circuit for his excellent ball distribution. Last season, he mostly played as a defensive midfielder. He had an average last season. I
n the last five matches, he had a passing accuracy of around 84%. He was quite error-prone in some matches.
Also, his 28% shooting accuracy in his career is a big reason to worry for East Bengal fans. He also has some fitness issues. Last season he only played one complete match. He played only 798 mins of football last season.
Alex Lima looked a bit rusty in the Durand Cup. But his excellent through passes helped the team a lot during the competition. His snatching in midfield and excellent blocking abilities are an additional bonus for East Bengal.
But in the Durand Cup, he was quite poor while taking set pieces. But if he can get back to his old form then Cleiton Silva and Eliandro will receive a lot of supply upfront.
If we keep the negative points aside, Jordan and Alex both look like very good addition. It will be interesting to see how Constantine uses the duo in the midfield.