East Bengal will host Turkmen side Altyn Asyr on Wednesday the 14th to kick-off the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Two, a rebranded and restructured version of the former AFC Cup. The winner of this one-off preliminary round tie, along with the winner of a parallel fixture between Al-Ahli and Kuwait SC, will claim the final two places in a 32-team pool from which the tournament’s group stage draw will be conducted.
How does AFC Champions League Two work?
Following the 2023-24 season, AFC made some drastic changes to the existing two-tier format that comprised of the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup. The new structure, which is in place from the 2024-25 season, has three competitions – AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two, and the AFC Challenge League.
While leagues in almost every sport worldwide are expanding, the Champions League Elite will see a reduction in participants from 40 to 24. These 24 teams are split into two groups and a league system similar to that adopted by the UEFA Champions League will decide the knockout fixtures. India has not been allotted even a single pathway into this competition, in contrast to the previous format which saw the ISL Shield winner enter the AFC Champions League.
Meanwhile, AFC Champions League 2 has expanded to include 34 teams and will follow a format similar to the former AFC Champions League. 30 teams were given direct entry into the main draw of the competition, based on qualification through their respective domestic competitions, while four teams have the chance to fill the final two spots through a one-off playoff fixture. This is the stage East Bengal will aim to surpass when they meet Altyn Asyr at the Salt Lake on Wednesday night.
Finally, the AFC Challenge League was formed to provide teams from lower-ranked footballing countries the opportunity to compete at the continental level. This tournament will have 20 participants split into five groups of 4 during the first round, followed by a knockout stage held at a centralized venue. However, lack of AFC license among many of the qualified clubs may see a decrease in the number participants during the upcoming season.
Road to Asia
The number of spots allocated to each country for AFC’s club competitions are based on an aggregate points system that ranks each country’s domestic league based on competitiveness, quality, and more. While India have no allocations in the Champions League Elite, it has two for the Champions League Two – a direct entrant (the ISL Shield winners), and a play-off entrant (Super Cup winners).
Turkmenistan has one allocation each for Champions League Two (through play-off) and the Challenge League (direct entry).
East Bengal find themselves in this fixture following their Kalinga Super Cup triumph back in January of this year. Meanwhile, their Turkmen opposition qualified by finishing runners-up in their domestic first division (the league champions Arkadag do not have the required license to compete at the Champions League Two level).
What’s at stake for East Bengal
Wednesday night’s fixture at the VYBK will mark East Bengal’s return to Asian football after ten long years. The last time the Torchbearers appeared in Asia was during the 2015 AFC Cup, when the Kolkata-based side finished runners-up behind Bengaluru FC in the 2013-14 I-League. Back then, East Bengal faithful were accustomed to seeing their club compete in continental football, with the Torchbearers qualifying for seven AFC Cups campaigns in the preceding decade. However, as Indian football was shaken up by the advent of the ISL in the years that followed, East Bengal failed to top the I-League and the Asian berth remained elusive.
Now, with the other neighbor Mohammedan SC bridging across to the ISL, and Mohun Bagan eagerly waiting in the Champions League Two group stage, Kolkata is preparing to become the epicenter of Indian football once again. The Torchbearers will not want to miss out on this auspicious occasion to progress in Asia.
New Signings to look out for
The Red and Gold third of Kolkata will be buzzing for the upcoming season as the club has made audacious moves in the transfer market to complement their resurgence in domestic football. Having signed Dimitrios Diamantakos and Madih Talal from Kerala Blasters and Roundglass Punjab respectively, East Bengal have acquired both the leading goalscorer and leading provider from the previous season. If there were any doubts, the pair have not wasted any time in making their presence felt, with each netting already in East Bengal’s opening Durand Cup fixtures.
The Torchbearers have also roped in midfielder Jeakson Singh for a club record transfer fee (for an Indian) and a contract that will keep the 23-year-old at the club until 2028. These additions, to the existing core of Naorem Singh, Souvik Chakrabarti, and Cleiton Silva, will make East Bengal a formidable opposition to face in both domestic and continental play.
Recent Performances
The 2024 Durand Cup, which kicked off late last month, has given East Bengal players some meaningful competition in preparation for this preliminary fixture. Fielding their first team, East Bengal are unbeaten so far with consecutive 3 – 1 victories in their opening games of the Durand.
In the first match against Indian Air Force, the Torchbearers found themselves trailing early in the first half, but their new signings gelled seamlessly together to turn the score line around. Diamantakos, Lalhlansanga, and Crespo got on the scoresheet, with three well-taken finishes. The next game also saw a slight blip when Downtown Heroes scored an unlikely equalizer, but the hosts took care of business from there.
A one-off fixture against a respectable Central Asian side for a place in the Champions League Two main draw will be a much stiffer challenge and East Bengal will not be able to afford any such careless concession of goals. However, the Torchbearers have a well-rounded, ambitious squad, and will be favoured by a Salt Lake Stadium packed with loyal supporters.
Altyn Asyr Team Profile
Based in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat, Altyn Asyr is the country’s most successful football club with eight domestic titles. While East Bengal’s most successful continental finish was a semi-final loss to Al-Kuwait in the 2013 AFC Cup, Altyn Asyr went one step further in 2018 when they lost in the final to Air Force Club of Iraq. During that 2018 campaign, Altyn Asyr overcame Bengaluru FC 5-2 on aggregate in the inter-zone semi-final.
Altyn Asyr will rely on forwards Wahyt Orazsähedow and Myrat Annaýew to do the damage in attack, with the pair scoring 23 goals between them in the 2023 Ýokary Liga season. The team has a healthy mix of experience and youth and boast multiple players who have received international caps for Turkmenistan.
Cuadrat’s Approach to the Game
Carles Cuadrat has done a fantastic job in assembling this squad since his appointment last year and he has a lot to be excited about this season. However, this fixture comes at a nascent stage in the season and the Torchbearers will have to be focused and ruthless to get the desired result.
As expected, Madih Talal has come into the side and is pulling strings left, right, and centre. Cuadrat will likely build the attack around him, placing cooperative wingers and forwards for him to pick out. Diamantakos and Crespo have also shown their ability in the Durand Cup and they will have a big role to play in getting East Bengal on the board.
Under Cuadrat, East Bengal’s wing play has flourished and the likes of Maorem Singh and Mark Zothanpuia will be called upon continue their good work. On the defensive side, Cuadrat will rely on the experience of Chakrabarti and 2021-22 ISL Golden Glove winner Prabhsukhan Gill to keep the Turkmen side off the scoresheet.
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