Opinion Okpara priceless for EB
It was one of those oddities of football that his team didnt win the I-League during his three-year reign.
Two men are primarily responsible for East Bengals march to the AFC Cup semifinals: Trevor Morgan and Uga Okpara. The former is an Englishman who managed the club from July 2010 to May this year and rebuilt it brick by brick. It was one of those oddities of football that his team didnt win the I-League during his three-year reign.
Okapra is a Nigerian centre-half who has been the bedrock of East Bengals success in recent years.
Morgan has parted company with his beloved club and Brazilian Marcos Falopa has replaced him this season. But the change of guard notwithstanding,it has remained Morgans East Bengal because almost all the players still swear by their former coach. And without Okparas towering presence and leadership on the field,the Kolkata giants wouldnt have come this far in the tournament.
East Bengal still remain unbeaten in this AFC Cup. They beat Selangor FA of Malaysia,Xuan Thanh Sai Gon of Vietnam and Tampines Rovers from Singapore in the group stage,thrashed Myanmars Yangon United 5-1 in the round of 16 and got the better of Indonesias Semen Padang (2-1 on aggregate) in the quarterfinals to become the second Indian club after Dempo to reach the last four of the AFC Cup.
Morgan guided the team till the round of 16 and encouraged his boys to dream big. Falopa,who was under big pressure,kept up the good work in the quarterfinals,impressing with his tactics in the away fixture against Padang. Using Robert Lalthlamuana in place of Reisangmei Vashum was a masterstroke which made the team more organised defensively. Robert saw off Padangs Argentine forward Esteban Vizcarra and that was almost half the job done. The rest was taken care of by the excellent Okpara.
The introduction of Baljit Sahni,who set up James Mogas equaliser,also spoke volumes of Falopas tactical acumen. But East Bengal rode on the foundation laid by Falopas predecessor. And now they face Kuwait SC who gave New Radiant a 7-2 hiding in their quarterfinal. East Bengal,however,have a glorious history of upsetting more fancied international opponents.
Shamik is a principal correspondent based in Kolkata
shamik.chakrabarty@expressindia.com
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