20/08/2020
in 1953, took the field against in a friendly at the Central Dynamo Stadium in Moscow. The match ended in a 3-3 draw in front of a packed 80,000 Russian crowd. Venkatesh scored a brace while Thangaraj scored the third for East Bengal.
East Bengal FC were the first foreign team to tour USSR post Stalin's death in 1953. USSR were one of the best teams of the 50s, winning the 1956 Olympics Gold medal. They played a series of friendlies against top Soviet Union teams like FC Torpedo Moscow, ФРĐĸĐžŅĐŋĐĩĐ´Đž ĐĐžŅĐēва, FC Dynamo Kyiv, FC Dinamo Tbilisi and FC Dynamo Moscow.
The pictures below -
* The Central Dynamo Stadium, Moscow.
* East Bengal General secretary J. C. Guha addressing the crowd before the game against Torpedo.
* Match day programme of Torpedo Moscow vs East Bengal FC.
* Torpedo and East Bengal players shaking hands ahead of the game.
* East Bengal captain Ahmed Khan with Torpedo captain.
* East Bengal FC against Dynamo Kyiv in their third friendly on the USSR tour!