"The club represents an entire culture and community" - East Bengal supporters emotional ahead of clash with Hyderabad FC | ISL 2023-24

East Bengal have travelled to Hyderabad to take on the hosts in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Maidaan in Gachibowli on Saturday, February 17.

The two teams have already met twice this season; once in the ISL and once in the Kalinga Super Cup. Both those games had gone the Red and Golden Brigade's way. This was in sharp contrast to the showing Hyderabad put up against them last season, winning both fixtures in the ISL - home and away.

However, a lot of water has flown under the bridge for the Nawabs since the end of last season. Coaches have changed and almost the entire first-team contingent has left the club.

Players from the reserves have been promoted to the first team and youngsters who were playing age-group football were handed out debuts by the plenty.

East Bengal, however, will pose a tough challenge for Hyderabad despite coming into this game on the back of two consecutive losses (to NorthEast United and Mumbai City).

Hailing from Kolkata, the Torchbearers are behemoths in the exact sense of the word in Indian football. Having completed a hundred years of existence in 2020, East Bengal are the second oldest football club in the country to still ply its trade, after Mohun Bagan. Quite naturally, a lot is at stake whenever they take to the pitch.

Some East Bengal supporters who live in Hyderabad, whom Sportskeeda spoke to before the game seemed optimistic about their team's chances against the hosts on Saturday.

East Bengal supporters greeting head coach Carles Cuadrat in Hyderabad. (EBFC)

For Anurag Lahiri, 31, who works at an IT firm in Madhapur, watching East Bengal play is akin to a matter of life and death. He moved to Hyderabad from Kolkata ten years ago, but still finds his heartbeat rising whenever the Torchbearers play.

"I don't have many joys in life, but East Bengal's performances are some of them. There is always a lot of pressure upon me at work as usual, but I manage to keep going knowing that East Bengal are doing well. Believe me, when the club does not do well, I go through sleepless nights despite having left Kolkata so many years ago. It is as if the club is embedded deep inside my heart," he said.

Oindrila Sengupta, 38, works at a pharmaceutical firm that is based in Shamirpet, but does not miss a single match that East Bengal play. Her drawing room boasts a 55-inch television, but she tries to go to games when the Red and Golden Brigade play in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

"It is not so much as East Bengal winning as them merely playing which propels me to cheer for them. The club represents an entire culture and community - that of the Bengali Hindus displaced from East Bengal during Partition - and I strongly relate to it. It is true that I have left Kolkata to work in Hyderabad, but my love for the Torchbearers has not diminished an inch," she said.

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"Hyderabad are going through a rough phase at the moment, as are East Bengal" - East Bengal supporters

Rituparna Mondal, 29, is a football fanatic who follows Indian football and keeps up with everything that is going on. The architect based in Yapral is partial towards East Bengal and knows that the Torchbearers will have the upper hand on Saturday.

Naorem Mahesh Singh and Lalchungnunga's absence due to suspensions and Jose Pardo's due to injury will affect East Bengal, but they can still hold their own against a struggling Hyderabad, she feels.

"Hyderabad are going through a rough phase at the moment, as are East Bengal. We come into this game on the back of two consecutive losses. Mahesh (Singh) and Lalchungnunga have been suspended. (Jose) Pardo has been ruled out with an injury as well. Not everything is going great in the East Bengal camp but I strongly believe in our head coach (Carles) Cuadrat. He will lead us out of this abyss," she said.

It is true that despite having won the Kalinga Super Cup in January, the once-mighty East Bengal are struggling in the ISL at the moment. They are ranked just one spot above Hyderabad in the league table with 12 points to their name. Newly promoted Punjab FC are perched above them, and this is bound to embarrass the Red and Golden faithful.

On the other side of the fence, the suspensions and injuries in the East Bengal camp are bound to accord the Yellow and Black a Godsent opportunity to pick up their first three points of the season.