The Red & Gold enter the competition with considerable confidence. Having qualified for the group stage after an impressive 4-1 extra-time victory over Kuwait’s Al Arabi SC in the preliminary round, East Bengal have also already lifted the Durand Cup under head coach Antonio López Habas, defeating archrivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant 4-1 in the final. The Spanish coach therefore has the opportunity to take a side that has started the new campaign strongly into a group containing Al Hussein, Iraq’s Al Shorta and Oman’s Al Seeb.
However, the hosts are going through a remarkable period of uncertainty just before the game. Al Hussein head coach Ahmad Hayel resigned only days before the meeting with East Bengal, with assistant coach Bashar Bani Yaseen taking temporary charge. The timing could hardly be more dramatic, particularly as Al Hussein are the reigning Jordanian champions and have won the domestic title three years in succession.
Al Hussein’s domestic start has also been far from ideal. They were thrashed 5-0 by Al-Jazeera in their opening league game before being held to a goalless draw by Al-Baqa’a. Yet East Bengal will know better than to read too much into those results. Al Hussein reached the quarterfinals of last season’s AFC Champions League Two, topping their group before eventually losing 3-1 to Saudi Arabian giants Al-Ahli. They therefore possess valuable recent continental experience and the advantage of playing at home.
For Habas, the challenge will be to balance ambition with pragmatism. The East Bengal coach has made it clear that he does not approach matches with a draw in mind, insisting that his team must focus on its own football and believe it can win. But the unavailability of players such as Chris Ikonomidis, who stayed back in Kolkata due to fever, has reduced the attacking options for Habas.
This is also an intriguing clash because the two clubs have never previously met. East Bengal’s objective will be to return from Jordan with something tangible from their first Group D fixture, while Al Hussein will be looking to put their turbulent start behind them on the continental stage. For East Bengal, a positive result would not only provide an important early boost in the group but also underline that their return to Asian competition is about much more than simply making up the numbers.