The AFC Cup is here again. Though the March 9 opening match of East Bengal at the Salt Lake ended in a goalless draw with Muktijoddha Sangshad of Bangladesh, the red and yellow brigade is leading the Indian hopes of gaining a place high up in the continental club hierarchy. TWF correspondent Kushal Chakrabarti in conversation with coach Subhas Bhowmick who has unleashed bigger dreams for his team in the new season.

One name that puts India on international club football map is Kingfisher East Bengal. The red-and-yellow colours were greatly resplendent in the last two seasons as East Bengal fashioned success stories in international field hitherto unheard of in the long history of the game in the country. The club made history winning the ASEAN club championship in Jakarta in 2003 and then followed it up with another triumph in Nepal lifting the San Miguel International Cup last year. The team progressed to the quarterfinals of the inaugural continental club championship - AFC Cup before losing to the eventual champion, Al Jaish of Syria. The appetite for international excellence stemmed from the club's ethos of achieving something new and the man, among may individuals whose contributions are attributable to the phenomenon, standing tall with his pioneering enterprise behind the team's assent is its coach, Subhas Bhowmick. He introduced the idea of a manager that is mostly followed by the teams of the developed world like Europe. Instead of remaining a mere trainer or tactician for the team he wrought the concept of total management .

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Are you satisfied with the preparation of your team for the big international assignment?
We got sufficient time for preparations last year, as there was a gap of ten days between the National Football League and the AFC Cup. This gave us time to arrange a residential camp in a five-star hotel, which helped develop a good understanding among the players. But this year the situation was different and we spent seven to eight days in Goa for NFL matches just before the AFC meet. Justifiably we didn't get sufficient time for preparation but still we arranged a short residential camp at the fag end of our training schedule. One thing I can assure you is that we never fell short of sincerity in whatever little training we have done so far.

Do you feel any difficulty in playing two different types football tournament simultaneously?
One cannot complain about this, the calendar for the season has been scheduled in such a fashion. All the top teams the world over face similar problems. This is not good for the players, who undergo a lot of stress trying to switch over from one situation to the other. The call for international matches are much different compared to the domestic fixtures and I feel by doing so we are exposing our players into unnecessary pressure situations what a matador experiences in a bull-fight. In such circumstances a player is unable to give his best as he is fatigued, demotivated and also runs the risk of getting injured. I think the matches needed to be spaced out as rest is a prerequisite for better brand of football.

You have often stressed on viewing the sport from a larger perspective. Do you think AFC Cup gives you that scope?
Football has undergone a sea-change in last ten to fifteen years. The concept now is quite different. A football team is never complete without a team of doctors, dieticians, physiotherapists, and phycologists. Even biomechnics is considered an essential and integral part of the team. You have to think football in its totality. AFC Cup allows us to have a measure through our opponents of the rapid strides the game is making in the developed world.

Are you satisfied with the performance of your team this season?
Satisfaction means death. I still think my team can produce much better brand of soccer. Development is a continuous process and we are focusing on winning matches. One may not find our approach spectacular at times but effective football is what matters rather than performing for the galleries. Our idea is to achieve laurels for the club and we have been working on that since the start of the season. I can say that we have come a long way and with sufficient success with this approach.

Don't you feel East Bengal needs a good striker?
Yes East Bengal needs a lethal striker of the mould of (Cristiano) Junior. Now, after the injury to Douglus (Da Silva), I also need a very good central midfielder. Douglas assumed a pivotal role in international matches and it is difficult to replace a person like him in such a short period of time.

Do you feel Indian clubs lack infrastructural facilites compared to the other clubs who are participating in AFC Cup?
Yes, the lack of adequate infrastructure is a problem for Indian clubs. I am not sure about the facilities in Bangladesh, but I have seen that even clubs in Maldives are in a position to provide better infrastructural facilities to their players. The best can be seen in the clubs from the Middle Eastern countries, Japan , Korea and China. It is beyond our imagination, what massive progress these countries have attained in ensuring proper infrastructural development.

Last year your team was denied a goal that looked genuine in the same tournament that saw your home-leg quarterfinal against Al-Jaish of Syria ending goalless. Do you think the poor referring continues to be a bane?
I usually prefer not to comment comment on referring. They are humans like us and can commit mistakes. Referees like players are integral part of the game and so long we have to depend on human supervision there will be mistakes. Hence, it will be unwise on my part to make comments on matters relating to refereeing.

What are your expectations from your team in the fresh edition of the AFC Cup?
AFC Cup is a tough tournament. It is also protracted in format that spreads over two domestic seasons. Hence, it is quite difficult to perform consistently. As it happened last year, we played the second part of the tournament, the crucial knock-out stage, with at least five new faces because of the domestic transfer season falling in between. Owing to the transfer turmoil upset the rhythm of the team as I lost players like Surkumar Singh, Mahesh Gawli among others. We played the initial part of tournament, with the same set of players who contributed in the ASEAN Cup AFC, at the fag end of the local season and just when the team composition appeared to peak with the second stage approaching, the transfers hit the scene. In order to maintain consistency I always prefer to retain the same set of players for a few seasons. It requires lot of time and training to get the side into a winning mould and I feel the club administrators should go for long-term contracts with the players and this could help in bringing bigger laurels for the club. As far as the present edition of the AFC Cup is concerned, we are up against clubs from established Asian nations. The club from Jordan - Al Faysali -- is quite good. Even if we come second in our group in the league stage, we can reach the quarterfinals and if we can produce the best in the knock-out stages the final is a big possibility. I earnestly hope East Bengal will create history again.