East Bengal F.C.
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| Full name | East Bengal Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Red & Gold brigade, Lal-holud (লাল হলুদ) | ||
| Founded | 1 August 1920; 95 years ago | ||
| Ground | East Bengal Ground | ||
| Capacity | 23,500 | ||
| Owner | United Breweries Group | ||
| Manager | Biswajit Bhattacharya | ||
| League | I-League | ||
| 2014–15 | 4th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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East Bengal Football Club (Bengali: ইস্ট বেঙ্গল ফুটবল ক্লাব) is a professional football club, based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It currently competes in the I-League, the top-tier of Indian football pyramid. The club has won 3 National Football League (India) (later named as I league from 2007 but has never won it) titles, 8 Federation Cups, 3 Indian Super Cups and many more. With the conclusion of the 2014–15 I-League, East Bengal F.C. is the only club in India that has remained in the topmost level of the national football pyramid since it was launched in 1996 as National Football League (India). The club is the current holder of the Calcutta Football League and Indian Super Cup titles. The club has represented India the most number of times in the Asian competitions, with its best performance being a semi-final berth in the AFC Cup 2013. East Bengal had also won ASEAN Club Championship in 2003.
East Bengal F.C. was founded in 1920 in Kolkata. With the start of the National Football League in 1996, East Bengal was one of the original teams to have participated in the league and is the only team to have remained in the top-flight of the country since then. East Bengal has one of the biggest ever fanbase in the history of Indian football. It has more than 1.3 million likes in its official Facebook page. There are also various fan made pages in Facebook for the club.
The club has a long-standing rivalry with neighbours Mohun Bagan AC, with whom it contests the Kolkata derby. Also there exists another small derby between East Bengal and Mohammedan S.C. (Kolkata).
Contents
History
1920-1930s
On 28 July 1920 Mohun Bagan were scheduled to play Jorabagan in the Coochbehar Cup.[1] Jorabagan sent out their starting eleven but with the notable exclusion of defender Sailesh Bose who was dropped from the squad for reasons not disclosed.[1] The vice-president of Jorabagan, Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, asked for Bose to be included in the line-up but the club coaches did not listen.[1] Chaudhuri left the club due to this and along with Raja Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri, Ramesh Chandra Sen, and Aurobinda Ghosh, formed East Bengal on 1 August 1920; 95 years ago.[1]
The club then participated in their first tournament in the same month of their formation in the Hercules Cup which was a 7-a-side tournament.[1] East Bengal won the tournament. After the tournament the club became affiliated with the Indian Football Association. The club then entered league play in the IFA Second Division.[1] The club finished in third place in the first season in the Second Division.[1]
In 1924 the club won the Second Division to gain promotion to the IFA First Division after finishing in second place to Cameroons "B".[1] Due to Cameroons "A" being in the First Division already the "B" team could not gain promotion and thus East Bengal were next in line for promotion.[1] However more controversy arrose after it was found out that the IFA only allowed two Indian based clubs in the IFA First Division (back then the IFA was British organization) and during the governing body meeting the nine British clubs approved of allowing East Bengal but the two Indian clubs (Mohun Bagan and Aryans Club) did not approve but majority votes allowed East Bengal into the IFA First Division.[1] After this the IFA removed the Indian club limit rule.[1]
1940s–1970s
It took the club till 1942 to win their first IFA First Division title.[2] Then in 1943 the club won their first IFA Shield. The club then achieved the double in 1945 by winning both the Calcutta Football League and IFA Shield.[2] The club then went on to win the 1949 Rovers Cup and the Durand Cup in 1951. Within that time the club also won three straight IFA Shields (1949, 1950, and 1951).[2] The club then partook in a tour to the Soviet Union and Romania in 1953.[2] Again the club won Rovers Cup several times during this era (1962, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975) as well as Durand Cup in (1952, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1978). The club stunned everyone by winning the 1970 IFA Shield against Pas Club of Iran which was one of the heavy weight and much reputed football club of those days, by 1–0. Later the club gained more respect by winning 1973 IFA Shield against Pyongyang City Sports Club of North Korea, Dok-Ro-Gang Club of Korea in the final "D.C.M. Trophy" held at New Delhi in 1973, Port Authority Club of Thailand in the final of Bordoloi Trophy and so on. The club has quite good track records against foreign teams.[3] The club then grew their reputation after winning the Calcutta Football League for six straight years from 1970 to 1975.[3] They also won the IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and Durand Cup during those years.[3] They even won the quadruple in 1972 by winning the Calcutta League, IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and Durand Cup in one season.[3] The club won their first Federation Cup of second edition in 1978.
1980s–1990s
Then in 1984 Mr.Dipak Das came into the club and revamped it. He brought in professionalism and turned the club into a professionally ran company.[3] The club won Federation Cup in 1980 and again in 1985. They also became the first Indian club to play in the newly redone Asian Club Championship in 1985–86.[3] The club then won the triple again in 1990 by winning the IFA Shield, Rovers Cup, and Durand Cup in one season.[3] The club also won the "Stafford Cup" (1986), "McDowell's Cup" (1995, 1997). In 1993, East Bengal FC won its first ever international title i.e. Wai Wai Cup in Nepal.[3] The club also won Federation Cup (India), IFA Shield, Calcutta Football League, Durand Cup and Rovers Cup, several times during this period. In 1996 the club became the founding members of the first nationwide football league in India, the National Football League.[4]
In 1998, "Das" signed with Vijay Mallya's United Breweries Group which then formed a new Private Limited Company called "United East Bengal Football Team Private Limited".[3] The club also renamed itself as Kingfisher East Bengal F.C. from then on.[3]
Recent history
The club then entered the 21st century in style winning the 2000–01 National Football League season.[5] Then they became the first club to win back to back titles after winning the 2002–03 and 2003–04 versions of the league and coming runners up in 2010–11 and 2011–12 in the I-League.[5] The club then went on to win the Federation Cup (India) again in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012.[5] They also won the Indian Super Cup in 2006 and 2011.[5] The club had won another international trophy in 2003, ASEAN Club Championship, in Jakarta, Indonesia, defeating heavy weight clubs like BEC Tero Sasana F.C., Persegres Gresik United and others.[5]
The club went in the semi finals of the reputed AFC Cup in 2013 where they lost against Kuwait SC of Kuwait.
The club holds the record of qualifying the AFC Cup for most numbers of time i.e. 8 times in total which is highest by any club till 2015.
On 2015, the club became runners up of Sheikh Kamal Cup in Bangladesh where they got defeated against Chittagong Abahani in the finals. The club gained reputation in this tournament for participating and performaning well with its young brigade because of the unavailability of their main players who were in ISL at that time.
Crest
In 1930, India was swept over by Gandhi’s Satyagraha which had an effect on football. Indian clubs boycotted the ongoing Calcutta Football League midway through the season due to this. Amidst much confusion, Royal Regiment was declared winners in the first division. However, East Bengal, in spite of being well ahead in the second division, was not allowed to be promoted to the First Division. They suspected Mohun Bagan A.C.’s hand behind the league boycott to thwart East Bengal’s promotion to the First Division. Thousands of East Bengal fans and officials decided to hold a protest march at the East Bengal Ground. It was at this march that flaming torches were carried by the protestors. This gave the club officials the idea of a torch (known as 'Mashal' in Bengali) being the club emblem, which has stuck to this day.[6]
Colours
The colours of East Bengal FC are red and gold. So the home jersey consists of a red and gold jersey with black shorts while the colour of away jersey actually varies on every year.
The reason for these colours is because after the club was formed the founders debated over the choice of colours for the club jersey. They choose a red and golden colour shirt hanging impressively at the "Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co." departmental store at Chowringhee, Kolkata. These colours became permanently associated with the club.[7]
Stadiums
Historically, the club has used several stadiums at Kolkata, Howrah and Barasat, including the Eden Gardens, which has been reserved for cricket since Salt Lake Stadium opened in 1984.
Salt Lake Stadium
The Salt Lake Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kolkata, West Bengal. The stadium is the second largest non-auto racing stadium in the world and the largest in India. It is currently used for mainly football matches. The stadium was built in 1984, has got a capacity of 1,20,000 people. The stadium has three tiers.[8] The stadium includes a unique running track, long jump track, electronic scoreboard, natural turf, floodlighting arrangement, air conditioned VIP rest room and Conference Hall along with Medical Room & Doping Control Room.[8] Other features of the stadium are boxes for TV along with several platforms for TV cameras, press boxes, air conditioned player's changing rooms.
The Salt Lake Stadium hosts the home games of East Bengal in I-League and AFC Cup.
East Bengal Ground
The East Bengal Ground is another stadium in Kolkata, India. This stadium has natural grass turf. This stadium is associated with the club and is actually East Bengal F.C.'s mother ground.The stadium lies on the Maidan (Kolkata) area on the northern side of Fort William and near to the Eden Gardens. Other features of the stadium are like elevator, commentary box, press box, etc. The club has got air conditioned dressing rooms for players, modern gymnasium, coffee shop and other advanced facilities. This stadium is currently used mostly for football matches of Calcutta Football League and is the home stadium of East Bengal in most of the Calcutta Football League matches. The stadium holds 23,500 people.[8]
Barasat Stadium
Barasat Stadium is also a stadium used by East Bengal club to play some of its regional matches, specially in case if the Salt Lake Stadium or East Bengal Ground cannot be used for any reason.
This stadium has natural grass turf and comes with proper floodlights to support night matches unlike the East Bengal Ground.
Players
Senior team squad
- As of 10 January 2016.[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current technical staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Biswajit Bhattacharya |
| 1st Assistant Manager |  Sammy Omollo |
| 2nd Assistant Manager (GK Coach) | Sanjay Majhi |
| 3rd Assistant Manager | Debjit Ghosh |
| Club Doctor | Dr. Shantiranjan Dasgupta |
| Physiotherapist | Rajesh Basak |
| Team Manager | Swapan Ball |
| Team Manager (AFC Cup) | Manish Banerjee |
| Team Media Officer | Gautam Roy |
Honours
The club has won a total of 136 trophies so far that includes both national and international trophies. Few of them are listed below.[10]
National
- National Football League (re-christened as I-League from 2007)
Champions (3): 2000/01, 2002/03, 2003/04
Champions (8): 1978, 1980, 1985, 1996, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012
Champions (3): 1997, 2006, 2011
Champions (37): 1942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Champions (28): 1943, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012
Champions (16): 1951, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1978, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2004
Champions (10): 1949, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1990, 1994
International
Champions (1): 2003
Runners up (1): 2015
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/india97.html#nfl1 1996–97 NFL India
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 1930s: The Dark Decade
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://eastbengalfootballclub.com/trophy.php
External links
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