Kolkata, Aug. 14 -- When East Bengal last qualified for an Asian tournament in 2015 the Indian Super League (ISL) was not worth their time, Igor Stimac was a 20th century World Cup star, Sunil Chhetri had played the first of his three Asian Cup finals, Lionel Messi only had an Olympic gold with Argentina and Pep Guardiola was managing Bayern Munich.
For one of Asia's oldest extant clubs, that feels like a nine-year itch that just hadn't healed. So, it fits that East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat would term Wednesday's preliminary knockout match of Asian Champions League Two against Turkmenistan's Altyn Asyr as one that is "very important for the club". The first step to being regulars in Asia, he said.
Altyn Asyr are used to that. Based in ...