When Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Pavel Matiash fronts up against India's Sunil Chhetri at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on June 13 in a crucial AFC Asian Cup qualification match, there will be a sense of deja vu about the match for both players.
It was while representing Maldivian club Maziya S&RC that Matiash played against Bengaluru FC at the same ground in a winner-takes-all AFC Cup group match on May 31, and despite putting on a good show both individually and as a team, he could do little about a sublime free-kick converted by Chhetri that gave the home side a 1-0 win and a place in the knockout stages of the continental tournament as champions of south Asia.
All the coach's men
Matiash will be one of the key players that Russian head coach Aleksandr Krestinin, a man known for his team's defensive organisation, will look to for the match on Tuesday, the winner of which will stand alone atop Group A and take a big step towards qualification for the Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2019. Kyrgyzstan might be ranked 132nd to India's 100th at the moment, but they went into this qualification draw as the higher-ranked side and are deservedly considered India's biggest threats in a group that also has Myanmar and Macau.
Pavel Sidorenko will be the key man in midfield, linking defence with attack, where Mirlan Murzaev, who plies his trade in Turkey, will be expected to take up the role of taking on the Indian defence. Anton Zemlianukhin is another experienced player in midfield, who might get a look-in at some stage if he doesn't start for Krestinin.
That faith from the coach is not the only thing that Matiash, Sidorenko, Murzaev and Zemlianukhin will share when Kyrgyzstan step out at the Kanteerava. All of these players were among the team that played India at the 2009 Nehru Cup, and Sidorenko was also a starter at the 2007 Nehru Cup, both of which remain the only two contests between the two countries. The only Indian survivor from those matches is Chhetri, who scored a goal each in both matches, won by India.
The back stories
The 2007 Nehru Cup was an important tournament for Indian football, revived after a 10-year gap and held about a year into English coach Bob Houghton's tenure. India were expected to fight with Kyrgyzstan for the spot in the final against top-ranked Syria and that is exactly how it turned out when the teams faced off in the last league match on August 26.
India won 3-0, the match best remembered for captain Bhaichung Bhutia's goal late in the first half. Taking the ball from the left, he weaved into the Kyrgyzstan defence, dodging one of his markers, nutmegging the next, and then releasing a chip past an advancing goalkeeper Maksim Agapov while holding off a challenge from one of the wing-backs to put India ahead. Sunil Chhetri and Abhishek Yadav scored in the second half and India then went on to win the Nehru Cup for the first time, beating Syria.
The field two years on was stronger, and when India and Kyrgyzstan met on August 23, they both needed to win to keep alive their hopes of making the final. Several of those who are in the current Kyrgyz squad had roles to play in the game; Zemlianukhin directed a precise cross to his teammate Vladim Kharchenko, whose shot was saved by Subrata Paul. Keeper Matiash brought down Bhutia - who'd scored in the first half - inside the box early in the second half and Chhetri converted from the spot.
Kyrgyzstan won a penalty of their own just moments later, but Paul pulled off a stunning save, a precursor of his heroics against Syria just eight days later.Substitute Murzaev, just 19 and playing only his fourth international, scored with a minute of regulation time left to give Kyrgyzstan some hope, but India held out for a 2-1 win.
Bob Houghton's team met Syria again in the final on August 31, and a win on penalties gave them the title.