The 2020–21 season was the 101st season of Sporting Club East Bengal (EB or SCEB). Established in 1920, the club celebrated its

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

on 1 August 2020. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Indian football season started on 1 August 2020 and is scheduled to end on 31 May 2021, with competitive matches occurring between November and March. The club competed in the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

(ISL) for the first time and finished their first ISL season in ninth place with 17 points. Before the start of the season, East Bengal was very active in the transfer market. The club precontracted over 20 Indian players with many signing long-term contracts and being assigned to the reserve team. Only a few players were retained from the previous season. Of them,

Prakash Sarkar Prakash Sarkar (born 15 February 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for I-League club Delhi. Career Prakash Sarkar started his career with the youth academy of Pune FC under then coach Ranjan Chowdhury and part ...

and

Boithang Haokip Boithang Haokip (born 9 September 1991) is an Indian footballer who currently plays for SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League. A free-kick specialist, he primarily plays as a central midfielder but can play as a full-back or a wide player. ...

were not registered in the ISL squad. East Bengal and Quess Corp's joint venture was terminated, and the club inked a partnership with

Shree Cement Shree Cement is an Indian cement manufacturer, founded in Beawar, Rajasthan, in 1979. Now headquartered in Kolkata (soon to be shifted entirely to Noida), it is one of the biggest cement makers in Northern India. Shree Cement has moved in the ...

as their principal investor in September.

Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League. As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history ...

was appointed as the team's head coach. Forward Bright Enobakhare was signed in the winter transfer window as the seventh foreigner. Another foreign player, Callum Woods, was also signed as a reserve defender. Due to investor issues and COVID-19, East Bengal could not start its league preparation until October. The club began their campaign with a loss in the

Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...

. East Bengal got their first point against

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

, after three consecutive defeats. They were undefeated for the next seven matches. They ended their campaign by losing against

Odisha FC Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

in an eleven-goal thriller, which was also the league's all-time highest scoring match. East Bengal's top goal scorer was

Matti Steinmann Matti Steinmann (born 8 January 1995) is a Finnish-German professional Association football, footballer who last played as a midfielder for Brisbane Roar FC, Brisbane Roar in the A-League Men, A-League. Club career Hamburger SV Steinmann is a y ...

with four goals in 17 matches. The club had six ISL ''Fans' Goal of the Week'' award from five players with four consecutive wins on week nine, 10, 11 and 12.

Background

East Bengal officially announced that Balwant Singh had signed a two-year contract with the team on 12 April 2020. The next day the club signed former fullback Lalramchullova back from arch-rivals

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

for the season as well as the services of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

defender

Gurtej Singh Gurtej Singh "Nanna" (born 18 December 1989) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for I-League club Delhi. Personal life Born and brought up in Ropar (now known as Rupnagar) in Punjab, Gurtej took interest in football ...

. On 18 April, the club announced a triple signing for the season: goalkeeper Rafique Ali Sardar from

, and Wahengbam Angousana and

Loken Meitei Moirangthem Loken Meitei (born 4 May 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for I-League club Delhi. Career Loken started his career with the youth set-up at Royal Wahingdoh before joining Shillong Fi ...

from TRAU. The club announced the signing of three more Indian recruits: winger

Bikash Jairu Bikash Jairu (born 10 November 1990) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club East Bengal and the India national team. Career Jairu hails from Gyalshing, West Sikkim and was spotted during the " ...

from Jamshedpur and midfielders

Cavin Lobo Cavin Lobo (born 4 April 1988) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Indian Goa Professional League club Vasco. Career Early career In 2010 Lobo was playing for Sporting Goa who were then in the I-Leag ...

and Sehnaj Singh from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and ATK respectively, each on a two-year contract, on 28 April. After being stranded for more than a months due to

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

all over India, the foreign contingent of the previous season squad started leaving for their home in the first week of May. The club announced four more signings: goalkeeper Sankar Roy from Mohun Bagan, defenders Mohammed Irshad from Gokulam Kerala, Keegan Pereira from Jamshedpur and Girik Khosla from

on 5 May. The club announced three more signings on 15 May: midfielders

Eugeneson Lyngdoh Eugeneson Lyngdoh (born 10 September 1986) is a member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly representing the Mawphlang constituency. He is also a former Indian footballer who lastly played as a midfielder for Indian Super League side East Ben ...

from

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, Mohammed Rafique from

Mumbai City Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...

and Milan Singh from

NorthEast United NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Supe ...

for the season. On 18 May, the club announced five more signings for the season: forward

C. K. Vineeth Chekiyot Kizhakkeveettill Vineeth (born 20 May 1988), commonly known as C. K. Vineeth, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for RoundGlass Punjab in the I-League. Personal life Born in Kannur district in the state of K ...

from Jamshedpur, right-back

Rino Anto Rino Anto (born 3 January 1988) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a right back for RoundGlass Punjab FC in the I-League. Club career Early career Born in Thrissur, Kerala, Anto is a product of the Tata Football Academy in Jams ...

from Bengaluru, left-back Pritam Kumar Singh from

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...

, defenders Anil Chawan from ATK and Vikas Saini from Mohammedan Sporting. Francisco Bruto Da Costa joined East Bengal as the interim assistant manager on 30 July 2020. The

and lockdown led to the postponement of India's football season. It was announced that the season would start on 1 August 2020 and would continue until 31 May 2021.

Indian Super League entry

The club's previous club investor, Quess Corp, announced in

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

2019 that they would leave the

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

at the end of the season. In January 2020, arch-rivals, Mohun Bagan entered the

(ISL), the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

top tier of Indian Football, by merging with the defending ISL champions ATK, adding pressure on the club on top of its financial woes. The club began searching for potential investors. Back in 2018, it chose Quess to participate in the ISL, but that did not materialise. There were rumours the club would merge with the

Bhubaneshwar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

-based ISL franchise,

, but the club owner denied them. In March, during the ongoing 2019-20 I-League, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown began halting everything. Quess unilaterally activated the

force majeure In contract law, (from Law French: 'overwhelming force', ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such ...

clause and terminated all players' and staff' contracts a month before the official exit on 1 May 2020. This was the first time the clause was activated in Indian football. It was rumoured that American consumer goods company

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

would be the principal sponsor of the club and with them, EB would play in the ISL. After the football season was declared complete, the club signed around 20 players to precontracts for the following season, but all of them were considered void, as the club did not have the sporting rights to compete in any league. In June, AIFF asked about the club's ownership status post-Quess separation for club licensing criteria, or East Bengal might not be able to play in any recognised tournament. The final termination,

No Objection Certificate No Objection Certificate, popularly abbreviated as NOC, is a type of legal certificate issued by any agency, organisation, institute or, in certain cases, an individual. It does not object to the covenants of the certificate. The certification is ...

and sporting right transfer was delayed, but on 17 July, the joint venture with Quess East Bengal Pvt. Ltd was officially terminated, and the club got back the sporting rights from the firm . In the meantime, the former owner of

Punjab FC RoundGlass Punjab FC is an Indian professional football club from Mohali in Punjab that competes in the Punjab State Super Football League and I-League. Founded as ''Minerva Academy FC'', in 2005, the club name was rebranded to ''Minerva Punj ...

, Ranjit Bajaj, expressed interest in buying the 70% outstanding shares. That month, a

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

-based company, USEL also showed an interest in the club but later backed off because of uncertainty of playing in the ISL. By the end of July,

Football Sports Development Limited Football Sports Development Limited is an Indian company established to operate the Indian Super League, the top tier football league in India. The company is run as a subsidiary to Reliance. The company is the commercial partner of All India ...

(FSDL), unofficially stated there would be no expansion in the seventh season during a meeting with the ten ISL clubs. Club officials asked FSDL to consider the club's participation in this season and allow more time for the team to finalise its investors. The players of East Bengal's

ASEAN Club Championship The ASEAN Club Championship or ACC is an international club football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation between domestic champion clubs. The competition is backed by AFC and FIFA. The first edition was sponsored by LG Electro ...

-winning team wrote to the club saying its priority should be to support

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

-affected people and not playing in the ISL. This led to a controversy in the club. After the club's foundation day, AIFF secretary, Kushal Das aroused speculation over EB joining the ISL saying, "I want to say nothing is impossible. What steps East Bengal should take – I think it is very important that you have to change with time, you have to get professional people. You have to have different departments. You need to have a sponsor servicing department. The fact that Quess and East Bengal had to part ways was not a good thing." On the 1 August, the club's assistant general secretary said on a chat show, "Whenever it is possible, we will play in the ISL. But we cannot say when we can join ISL. It is a legacy club and it has its heritage. But we have to change ourselves a bit and we are trying to reach that point and when that happens we will join ISL. But we cannot say when it will happen.” On 12 August, the expansion of the I-League was announced and AIFF vice-president mentioned 12 teams in the league which included East Bengal. This increased speculation further. On 2 September 2020, the club and

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...

announced at the state secretariat

Nabanna ''Nobanno'' ( bn, নবান্ন, Nobānno; lit: New Feast) is a Bengali harvest celebration usually celebrated with food and dance and music in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley. It is a ...

that Kolkata-based firm

was the club's new investor. The next day, FSDL invited bids for interested clubs from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...

and

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

. On 15 September, the club officially confirmed that they had submitted their bid papers for entry to the

2020–21 Indian Super League The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

. The participation of East Bengal in the ISL was also unofficially confirmed. The club was rebranded as Sporting Club East Bengal. On 27 September, FSDL chairman,

Nita Ambani Nita Mukesh Ambani (''née'' Dalal, born 1 November 1963) is an Indian philanthropist. She is the chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation, Dhirubhai Ambani International School and a director of Reliance Industries. She is married to ...

announced

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

's move from the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

to the Indian Super League for the 2020–21 season.

After entering the Indian Super League

The club announced former India captain

Renedy Singh Potsangbam Renedy Singh, simply known as Renedy Singh (born 20 June 1979), is a former Indian football player and football pundit, who was the interim manager of Indian Super League club East Bengal for 2021–22 season. He is also the former ...

would be the team's new assistant coach and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

legend

was signed as the team's new head coach on 9 October. He would be assisted by Anthony Grant, who was alongside him at

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

last season. The backroom staff would include former

Tottenham Hotspurs Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

' goalkeeper

Bobby Mimms Robert Andrew Mimms (born 12 October 1963) is an English football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Mimms' career lasted twenty years, and is best known for his tenure with Blackburn Rovers, where he was a member of the Premie ...

as the goalkeeper coach, and former

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

manager

Terry McPhillips Terence Peter McPhillips (born 1 October 1968) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a forward in the Football League. He is currently the Chief Scout of Forest Green Rovers. Early life McPhillips attend ...

as the set-piece coach. Robbie Fowler would be assisted by Michael Harding, the former physio of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. Jack Inman, Former sports scientist from

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, and Joseph Walmsley, an analyst from

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

joined management. The team became the first club in India to appoint a set-piece coach. East Bengal announced the signing of Australian defender

Scott Neville Scott Neville (born 11 January 1989) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Brisbane Roar in the A-League. Personal life Scott Neville is the son of former English Football League pro, Steve Neville. Steve Nevi ...

on loan from Brisbane Roar for the season as their first official signing. He was also to be registered as the Asian foreigner for the Indian Super League campaign. SC East Bengal announced the signing of four more foreigners: Aaron Amadi-Holloway from Brisbane Roar,

Anthony Pilkington Anthony Neil James Pilkington (born 6 June 1988) is an Irish people, Irish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger. After playing non-league football briefly, he began his prof ...

and

Danny Fox Daniel Fox (born 29 May 1986) is a former professional footballer who last played as a defender for East Bengal in the Indian Super League. He represented England at under-21 international level, has since been selected for Scotland national ...

from

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

and

from

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

. The club announced the signing of the

India national football team The India national football team represents India in international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The team is affiliated to FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Indian team, which was once cons ...

forward

Jeje Lalpekhlua Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai (born 7 January 1991) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker, and last appeared with Indian Super League club East Bengal. Between 2011 and 2019, he scored 23 goals in 56 international matches represe ...

for the season. On 19 October, East Bengal announced the signing of their sixth foreigner, Congolese winger

Jacques Maghoma Jacques Ilonda Maghoma (born 23 October 1987) is a Congolese former professional footballer who made 380 appearances in the Football League between 2009 and 2020 and 25 for the DR Congo national team between 2010 and 2019. A midfielder, Magho ...

, who had played for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

side

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

in the previous season. The club announced the signing of former left-back Narayan Das from

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. During an online interaction on the club's social media, coach Robbie Fowler said: "We will look to develop a competitive team and try and develop Indian talent as well. We all hope the league can get better, the ISL and as management, we think we can better." Later, the team management hired

sports psychologist Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...

Nicola McCalliog to assist the team for the season. McCalliog had previously worked with several

English Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

sides and was also the Head of Player Welfare and Psychology at the Robbie Fowler Academy.

Transfers

Incoming

Outgoing

Loan in

Loan out

Team

First-team squad

East Bengal announced their first-team squad on 20 October which included 22 domestic players. They had also signed six foreign players who were registered for the 2020–21 Indian Super League season. The following list consists of the registered players for the Indian Super League season. Danny Fox was announced as the captain of the side while Anthony Pilkington was announced as his deputy. {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; width:80%;" , - ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", No. ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Name ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Position(s) ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Date of Birth (Age) , - ! colspan="5" style="background:#ffcd31; color:#d71a23; text-align:center;", Goalkeepers , - , 24 ,

Debjit Majumder Debjit Majumder (born 6 March 1988), is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. Early life Majumder hails from Hindmotor, known for Hindustan Motors factory(now closed), in Hooghly d ...

, , GK , , - , 32 ,

Mirshad Michu Mirshad Kootapunna Michu (born 3 February 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club NorthEast United. Career East Bengal While Playing in KPL for Gokulam Kerala, Mirshad was spotted by E ...

, , GK , , - , 40 , Suvam Sen , , GK , , - , 91 ,

Subrata Paul Subrata Paul (also Pal; born 24 December 1986) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan, on loan from Hyderabad. Club career Mohun Bagan A graduate of the Tata Football Acade ...

, , GK , , - ! colspan="5" style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Defenders , - , 2 ,

, , CB/ RB , , - , 4 ,

(

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

) , , CB , , - , 16 , Rana Gharami , , CB , , - , 21 , Narayan Das , , LB , , - , 27 , Lalramchullova , , LB/RB , , - , 31 , Rohen Singh , , CB , , - , 47 ,

Raju Gaikwad Raju Eknath Gaikwad (born 25 September 1990) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender for Churchill Brothers in the I-League. Gaikwad primarily plays as a centre back, but can also play as a full back and is a long throw specialist. C ...

, , CB/ RB , , - , 55 , Ankit Mukherjee , , RB , , - , 70 , Sarthak Golui , , CB , , - ! colspan="5" style="background:#ffcd31; color:#d71a23; text-align:center;", Midfielders , - , 6 ,

, , CDM , , - , 8 , Mohammed Rafique , , CM , , - , 14 , Wahengbam Angousana , , CM , , - , 17 , Yumnam Singh , , LW , , - , 18 ,

, , CM , , - , 19 ,

, , LW/ AM , , - , 20 , Aaron Amadi-Holloway , , MF , , - , 22 ,

(

vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the re ...

) , , LW/RW/ AM , , - , 23 ,

, , LW , , - , 26 , Sehnaj Singh , , CDM , , - , 29 , Surchandra Singh , , RW , , - , 33 ,

, , LW , , - , 35 , Milan Singh , , CDM , , - , 44 , Haobam Tomba Singh , , CM , , - , 56 ,

Ajay Chhetri Ajay Chhetri (born 1 July 1999) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for I-League club RoundGlass Punjab, on loan from Indian Super League club Bengaluru. Career Youth Born in Kanglatongbi, Manipur, Chhetri jo ...

, , CDM , , - , 88 ,

Sourav Das Sourav Das (born 20 June 1996), is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League. Career statistics Club Honours Club ;Mohun Bagan *Calcutta Football League The ...

, , CM , , - ! colspan="5" style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Forwards , - , 10 , Bright Enobakhare , , FW , , - , 12 ,

, , FW , , - , 15 , Balwant Singh , , FW , , - , 28 , Girik Khosla , , FW , , - , 30 ,

, , FW , , - , 34 ,

Harmanpreet Singh Harmanpreet Singh is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender for the Indian national team and also captains the national team. He was part of the hockey team that won the bronze medal for India in Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games ...

, , FW , , -

Other players under contract

Some newly contracted players, and players with existing contracts, were not registered in the first team squad. They are: {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%; width:50%;" , - ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Name ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Nationality ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Position ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Date of Birth (Age) , - ,

, , MF , , - ,

, , DF , , - ,

, , MF , , - , Keegan Pereira , , DF , , - ,

, , MF , , - ,

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, , DF , , - , Pritam Kumar Singh , , DF , , - , Anil Chawan , , DF , , - ,

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Coaching staff

{, class="wikitable" , - ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" , Position ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" , Name , - , Head coach ,

, - , rowspan="2" , Assistant coach , Anthony Grant , - ,

, - , Set piece coach ,

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, - , Physio , Michael Harding , - , Video analyst , Joseph Walmsley , - , Sports scientist , Jack Inman , - , Psychologist , Nicola McCalliog

Kit

East Bengal signed Indian apparel brand

TYKA Sports TYKA is an Indian sportswear and sports equipment brand introduced by TK Sports Private Limited in 2009. Primarily being the kit partner for various cricket teams across the world, TYKA is now associated with various football teams. The company ...

as the new kit sponsors for the 2020–21 season. On 2 November, the club launched all three sets of kits for the 2020–21 season, each one depicting a symbol for the club and

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. The home colours are the iconic red and gold and the kit depicts the flames of the

Torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...

or "Mashal", the club's emblem. The away colours are blue and white, depicting the scales of Hilsa or "

Ilish The ilish (''Tenualosa ilisha'') ( bn, ইলিশ, translit=iliś; also known as the ilishi, hilsa, hilsa herring or hilsa shad, is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae. It is a very popular and sought-after food ...

", the fish which is associated with the

Bangal Bangal is a term used to refer to the people of East Bengal (usually from the areas of Mymensingh, Dhaka, Barisal and Comilla), now in Bangladesh (as opposed to the Ghotis of West Bengal). The term is used to describe Bengalis from the east, ...

family. It also shows the rivers and waters that flow between and connect the

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and

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parts of Bengal, providing life to the people. The third kit is black with golden stripes, symbolising the

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and its famous inhabitant, the

Royal Bengal Tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

. {, style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" , , , , ,

Pre-season

East Bengal and coach Robbie Fowler along with his coaching staff arrived at

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on 16 October for pre-season preparation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the team spent 14 days in quarantine in the team's hotel before beginning pre-season training. The first practice session under Fowler began on 30 October 2020, with just four weeks to prepare before the season opener against

ATK Mohun Bagan ATK Mohun Bagan FC () is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club, which was formed as a merger between the football section of m ...

. East Bengal management acquired the

Sesa Football Academy Sesa Football Academy (SFA) is a football academy based in Sanquelim, Goa. Originally founded in the 1960s as Sesa Sports Club, its football team competes in the Goa Professional League, and previously participated in NFL II and I-League 2nd D ...

ground for the season as their home base for training. On 10 November, East Bengal faced the Kerala Blasters in their first pre-season practice game and won 3–1 courtesy of a brace from Anthony Pilkington in the first half, which put the Red and Gold brigade 2–0 ahead at half time. In the second half,

Gary Hooper Gary Hooper (born 26 January 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot club Omonia. Hooper started his career at League Grays Athletic in 2003. While there he won the 2004–05 Conference South, as well ...

pulled one back for the Blasters, but Yumnam Singh scored the third for East Bengal, who won 3–1.

Pre-season friendlies

Competitions

Overall

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, 27 November 2020 , 27 February 2021 !

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, -

Overview

Indian Super League

Summary

East Bengal officially joined the Indian Super League as the 11th team after the FSDL accepted their bid documents. This is the first time the team has played in the ISL. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 Indian Super League season was held entirely at Goa under a secured bio-bubble. The club was allotted the

Tilak Maidan Stadium Tilak Maidan is a multi-use stadium located in Vasco da Gama, Goa, India. It is used mostly for football matches and regularly hosts matches in the I-League as well as Goa Professional League. It also hosted Indian Super League matches from 20 ...

as their home ground for the season.

= November

= East Bengal made their debut in the Indian Super League on 27 November against their arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Goa. However, the Red and Gold brigade suffered a 0–2 defeat in their opening game courtesy of strikes from

Roy Krishna Roy Krishna (born 30 August 1987) is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC and the Fiji national team. Club career Early career Krishna joined the New Zealand Football Championship ( ...

and Manvir Singh for ATK Mohun Bagan.

= December

= East Bengal faced Mumbai City in their second game campaign at the

GMC Athletic Stadium The GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim is the first integrated athletic complex in Goa. It has been constructed according to IAAF specifications and norms and has hosted the athletic events of 2014 Lusofonia Games. The field is covered with ...

, Bambolim, on 1 December and were defeated 3–0, with

Adam Le Fondre Glenville Adam James Le Fondre (born 2 December 1986), known as Adam Le Fondre, is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Sydney FC in the A-League. He previously played for his hometown club Stockport County as well a ...

scoring two goals and Hernan Santana scoring the third for the Islanders. East Bengal captain Danny Fox sustained a groin injury in the second minute of the game and had to leave the field. Le Fondre scored the first from a counter-attack in the 20th minute as

Hugo Boumous Adnan Hugo Boumous (born 24 July 1995) is a French-Moroccan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG. He is known for his playmaking ability and link-up play. He had won golden ...

set him up in front of an open net. The second goal came just after the restart from a penalty as

took down Le Fondre inside the box. The third goal came in the 58th minute from a set-piece movement as Hernan Santana scored unmarked from inside the penalty area. In the third match, the club faced

on 5 December at the Tilak Maidan Stadium and suffered a hat-trick of losses as they went down 2–0. Controversially, the red and gold brigade were denied a penalty early in the first half when

Ashutosh Mehta Ashutosh Mehta (born 21 February 1991) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender. Club career Mumbai The 2010–11 season got off to a good start for Mehta as he made his debut for Mumbai in the 2010 Federation Cup again ...

tripped Jacques Maghoma inside the box, with Ashutosh already on a yellow, but referee Santosh Kumar ignored the calls. The opening goal came in the 33rd minute when a cross from the right flank struck Surchandra Singh and went into his net for an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

. The second goal came in the dying minutes of the game against the run of play from a counter-attack as Rochharzela tapped in from close range to make it 2–0 for the Highlanders—a third consecutive defeat for the East Bengal team, who had yet to score a goal in the campaign. On 10 December, East Bengal next faced Jamshedpur in their fourth match of the campaign at the Tilak Maidan Stadium. Their first match in the Indian Super League was a hard-fought goalless draw, having played more than 70 minutes with only 10 men. Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who got his first start for East Bengal, was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

with double bookings in the 25th minute of the game. The 10-man East Bengal team kept a clean sheet at the back, with Mohammed Irshad being awarded Hero of the Match for his excellent defensive display. East Bengal played Hyderabad FC on 15 December in their fifth game at the Tilak Maidan Stadium and suffered yet another defeat as they went down 3–2. It was Jacques Maghoma who scored the first-ever goal for East Bengal in the Indian Super League in the 26th minute to put them ahead. Hyderabad had a chance to equalise in the dying minutes of the first half as they were awarded a penalty kick, but Debjit Majumder saved

Aridane Santana Aridane Jesús Santana Cabrera (born 31 March 1987), known simply as Aridane, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Real Balompédica Linense. Club career Born in Vecindario, Province of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Ar ...

's spot-kick to keep the lead at halftime. Hyderabad rallied back in the second half, however, as Aridane Santana scored two goals within 54 seconds to take the lead in the 56th minute. In the 69th minute,

Halicharan Narzary Halicharan Narzary (Bodo हलिचरन नार्जारी born 10 May 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club Bengaluru. Club career Youth career Narzary first started playing f ...

tapped in the third for Hyderabad after

Liston Colaco Liston Colaço (born 12 November 1998) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG and the India national team. Club career Born in Davorlim, Goa, Colaço is a product of Salgaoca ...

dribbled past the East Bengal defence to square it to him for the finish and take a two-goal lead. Jacques Maghoma did score another with a glancing header off Anthony Pilkington's set-piece in the 81st minute, but it was not enough as East Bengal suffered their fourth loss in five matches. East Bengal announced their eighth foreign signing for the season. English defender

joined the side in Goa. However, he was not registered into the ISL squad immediately but kept as a backup option. The club faced Kerala Blasters next on 20 December at the GMC Stadium, Bambolim, and shared points after Kerala Blasters scored in the dying minutes to make it 1–1. East Bengal took the lead in the 13th minute after Mohammed Rafique's low grounder went inside the net, having been deflected off Kerala Blasters' defender

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as an own goal. East Bengal had a few more chances to bury the game but failed to utilise them. Kerala Blasters equalised in the 95th minute of the game, with

Jeakson Singh Jeakson Singh Thounaojam (born 21 June 2001) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the India national team. Club career Youth and early career: 2012–2018 Bo ...

scoring a header from inside the box. The red and gold brigade moved up a place to 10th after earning a single point from the game. On 26 December, East Bengal faced

Chennaiyin Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded in Au ...

at the Tilak Maidan Stadium and came from behind twice to draw 2–2 courtesy of a brace from German midfielder Matti Steinmann. Chennaiyin FC took the lead early in the 13th minute after

Lallianzuala Chhangte Lallianzuala Chhangte (born 8 June 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Indian Super League club Mumbai City and the India national team. He won the 2022–23 AIFF Men's Player of the Year award. ...

scored from a fast counter-movement. East Bengal equalised in the second half in the 59th minute as Matti headed in from a corner-kick by Bikash Jairu. Chennaiyin FC once again took the lead just five minutes later in the 64th minute, with Rahim Ali finishing from close range to make it 2–1. However, once again, Matti Steinmann tapped home a rebound from Danny Fox's header from another corner by Bikash Jairu in the 68th minute. East Bengal remained win-less after seven matches in the Indian Super League with just three points.

= January

= On 1 January, East Bengal announced the signing of 22-year-old Nigerian U-23 forward Bright Enobakhare, who last played for the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

side

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

. On 2 January, the team announced the double signing of Indian defenders Ankit Mukherjee from ATK Mohun Bagan and

, who played for Kerala Blasters last season. Jaime Santos, the only foreigner from the previous season with long term contract was released and he joined Palmaflor in January.

Lalrindika Ralte Lalrindika Ralte (born 7 September 1992 in Lunglei, Mizoram), popularly known as Dika, is a former Indian professional association football, footballer who last played as an midfielder (association football), attacking midfielder for Real Kashm ...

was not registered for the ISL squad and in joined I-League side, Real Kashmir after being released from the club. The first game of 2021 was against Odisha, on 3 January at the Tilak Maidan Stadium and grabbed their first win of the campaign with a score of 3–1. Anthony Pilkington opened the scoring for East Bengal in the 12th minute as he headed in from a long throw-in by Raju Gaikwad. Jacques Maghoma doubled the lead in the 39th minute with a left-footed finish as he scored his third goal of the season. In the second half, debutant Bright Enobakhare scored the third in the 88th minute to seal the victory for the red and gold brigade. An own goal by Danny Fox was a consolation for Odisha in the 92nd minute and East Bengal got all three points for the first time in the season. The team faced

at the

Fatorda Stadium Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, locally known as Fatorda Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium situated in Margao, Goa, India. The venue has been used to host both international football as well as International cricket matches.However after th ...

on 6 January and shared points with a 1–1 draw, even after playing with 10 men for more than 40 minutes in the second half. East Bengal had the better chances in the game, but Danny Fox and Matti Steinmann failed to convert the opportunities. Fox was given a straight

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

in the 56th minute for dangerous play, but again it was the red and gold brigade who created more chances. In the 79th minute, Nigerian forward Bright Enobakhare, who had his first start for the team, scored a goal after dribbling past five Goa players to finish the ball and put East Bengal ahead. However, Goa equalised the score a minute later with a Devendra Murgaonkar header. Bright Enobakhare put the ball inside the net once more, but it was ruled off for a foul. East Bengal managed to hold the Goans for the final minutes and shared points. They remain unbeaten in their last four matches with seven points on the table from nine games. East Bengal played Bengaluru on 9 January at the Fatorda Stadium in their last game of the first leg of the 2020–21 ISL and secured their second win of the campaign by a 1–0 margin. East Bengal had the red card decision on Danny Fox overturned by the disciplinary committee and EB captain started the game. The solitary strike came in the 20th minute as Matti Steinmann flicked in Narayan Das's low cross from close range. East Bengal remained unbeaten in five matches with this win and reached 10 points from as many games played. On 11 January, East Bengal signed

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

's goalkeeper

Suvam Sen Suvam Sen (born 14 November 1989) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for United SC United Sports Club (formerly known as both Prayag United, and Chirag United) is an Indian professional football club based in K ...

as a replacement for Rafique Ali Sardar, who went on loan to Mohammedan Sporting. The team also announced the signing of the defensive midfielder

from Bengaluru on loan for the rest of the season. The team played Kerala Blasters in the return fixture at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on 15 January and scored a last-minute equaliser to earn a 1–1 draw. Raju Gaikwad was injured during the warm-up and had to be replaced by Rana Gharami. The first half remained goalless, but it was Kerala Blasters who took the lead in the 56th minute as Jordan Murray scored past Debjit following a long ball from goalkeeper

Albino Gomes Albino Giovanni Gomes (born 7 February 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for I-League club Churchill Brothers. Club career Early life and youth career Born in Goa, India, Albino began playing football at t ...

. East Bengal found the equaliser in the dying moments at the 94th minute when Scott Neville headed into the net from Bright Enobakhare's corner kick. East Bengal managed to keep their undefeated run alive and grab a point from the game. The club played Chennaiyin on 18 January at the GMC Stadium and managed to keep their unbeaten run ongoing with a 0–0 draw even after going down to 10 men in the 30th minute. Ajay Chhetri, who got his first start for the team, was given red card right after the half-hour mark after a double booking. East Bengal still managed to hold on with Hero of the Match Debjit Majumder making some vital saves late in the second half as East Bengal grabbed a point and remained undefeated in seven matches in a row. Two players from the previous season, Samad Ali Mallick and Abhishek Ambekar and new recruit Mohammed Irshad were de-registered and parted ways from the club. Samad Ali Mallick and Mohammed Irshad joined Punjab; Abhishek Ambekar joined the new I-League entrants, Sudeva Delhi.

Brandon Vanlalremdika Brandon Vanlalremdika (born 28 January 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for I-League club Sreenidi Deccan. Club career Born in Mizoram, Vanlalremdika started his career with Aizawl. He was one of ...

was loaned out to another I-League club, Aizawl. The team played table-toppers Mumbai City on 22 January next at the Tilak Maidan Stadium and in a tightly contested game, succumbed to a 0–1 defeat courtesy of a solitary goal from Mumbai defender

Mourtada Fall Sérigné Mourtada Fall (born 26 December 1987) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. He currently played for Indian Super League club Odisha fc. Career Regarded as a goalscoring defender, Fall became the highest ...

in the 27th minute. The red and gold brigade went all out in the second half as Danny Fox came close to equalising the score but failed. East Bengal's seven-match undefeated streak came to an end with this defeat. On 26 January, East Bengal announced the signing of veteran goalkeeper

on loan from Hyderabad. The deal was a swap loan deal with Sankar Roy joining Hyderabad until the end of the season on loan. East Bengal played FC Goa on 29 January at the Fatorda Stadium and managed to secure another 1–1 draw after trailing in the first half.

Igor Angulo Igor Angulo Alboniga (born 26 January 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward. Formed at Athletic Bilbao, he appeared in only five competitive matches during his spell at the club. He went on to make a name for himsel ...

put Goa ahead in the 39th minute after Anthony Pilkington squandered a spot-kick early in the second minute of the game. Skipper Danny Fox equalised for East Bengal in the 65th minute from a set-piece movement. Goa was down to 10-men in the 66th minute after Edu Bedia was showrn red card for double booking, but East Bengal failed to capitalise on the opportunity and shared the points with yet another draw.

= February

= On 1 February, transfer deadline day, East Bengal announced the double signing of defender Sarthak Golui and midfielder

from Mumbai City. Next day, East Bengal played Bengaluru at the Tilak Maidan Stadium and suffered a 0–2 defeat. Brazilian forward

Cleiton Silva Cleiton Augusto Oliveira Silva (born 3 February 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Indian Super League club East Bengal. Club career BEC Tero Sasana His career took off in the 2012 season when incomin ...

put Bengaluru ahead in the 12th minute with a left-footed finish. The blues doubled their lead in the 45th minute when

Parag Shrivas Parag Satish Shrivas (born 9 June 1997) is an Indian professional footballer, who plays as a defender for Bengaluru in the Indian Super League. Career Born in Maharashtra, Shrivas was motivated to play football from the age of seven. In July ...

hit the ball onto the sidebar, only to rebound and struck Debjit Majumder's legs to go in for an own goal. Bengaluru could have increased their lead in the second half as

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Widely regarded as the greatest Indian footballer of all time, h ...

hit the crossbar. This was the sixth defeat of the season for East Bengal, as they remained on 13 points from 15 matches. Coach Robbie Fowler was handed a four-match ban and a fine by the tournament committee for making alleged "insulting remarks" about match officials of the Goa game in a post-match interview. East Bengal faced Jamshedpur on 7 February at the Fatorda Stadium and won 2–1. Matti Steinmann put East Bengal ahead in the 65th minute with a header off a Narayan Das's corner. Anthony Pilkington doubled the lead in the 68th minute with a shot after Steinmann played him inside the box. Peter Hartley pulled one back for Jamshedpur in the 83rd minute, but the Red and Gold brigade managed to hold on to the lead and grab their third win of the campaign and move to ninth place. On 12 February, EB faced Hyderabad at the Tilak Maidan Stadium and drew 1–1 to share points. Bright Enobakhare put East Bengal ahead in the 59th minute after being played through by Anthony Pilkington with a headed flick. Aridane Santana equalised for Hyderabad in injury time to deny East Bengal all three points. Bright Enobakhare had a genuine spor-kick turned down after being taken down by Laxmikant Kattimani inside the box. With eight draws and three wins, The team remained in ninth place with 17 points. On 19 February, in the return leg of the

and the team suffered another defeat as the game ended 3–1. Roy Krishna put ATK Mohun Bagan ahead in the 15th minute with a solo finish grabbing onto a long ball from Tiri. East Bengal equalised in the 41st minute as Tiri headed inside his net for an own goal from a Raju Gaikwad's long throw. In the second half, David Williams put ATK Mohun Bagan ahead again following an error by East Bengal skipper Danny Fox in the 72nd minute. Substitute Javi Hernandez doubled their lead in the 89th minute with a header as they secured a victory. The club faced NorthEast United next on 23 February in their

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game of the season and suffered another defeat as the game ended 2–1 in favour of the Highlander brigade. V.P. Suhair scored the opening goal for NorthEast United in the 48th minute before Sarthak Golui put the ball inside his net for an own goal in the 55th minute and NorthEast United doubled their lead. Sarthak Golui scored the consolation for the Red and Gold brigade in the 87th minute from a header of a dead-ball situation, however, it was not enough to save a defeat. In the last game of the season, East Bengal played Odisha and suffered their ninth defeat of the season in a high-scoring encounter which ended 6–5 for Odisha. Paul Ramfangzauva and

Jerry Mawihmingthanga Jerry Mawihmingthanga (born 9 March 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club Odisha. Career DSK Shivajians Born in Mizoram, Mawihmingthana started his career with the DSK Shivajians Academ ...

scored a brace while Lalhrezuala Sailung and Diego Maurício scored one each of Odisha's six goals while Aaron Amadi-Holloway netted twice with Anthony Pilkington and Jeje Lalpekhlua finding the back of the net along with an own goal from Ravi Kumar as EB ended their season with an all-time low, letting in six goals for the second time in domestic competition since independence. The match became the highest scoring match in league history. East Bengal ended their ISL inaugural campaign with 17 points finishing in ninth place. After the last match of the season, Fowler stated, "The planning has already started. As soon as the season ends, we automatically start planning for the next season. We just did not have enough time this year in terms of preparation. With the right recruitment and the right time frame on the training pitches, and with my ideas and methods of the way we want to play, we can do better."

League table

Result summary

Results by round

Matches

The season fixtures for the first 10 matches were released on 30 October. East Bengal began their campaign against rivals ATK Mohun Bagan on 27 November 2020. The rest of the fixtures were announced on 2 January 2021.

Statistics

Appearances

Players with no appearances not included in the list. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; width:70%;" , - , colspan="8" , Appearances for East Bengal in 2020–21 season , - ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" rowspan="2", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" rowspan="2", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" rowspan="2", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center; width:150px;" rowspan="2", Name ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center; width:86px;" colspan="2", Indian Super League ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center; width:86px;" colspan="2", Total , - !Apps !Starts !Apps !Starts , - ! colspan="8" , Goalkeepers , - , 1, , GK , , , , Sankar Roy, , 1 , , 1 ! 1 !! 1 , - , 24 , , GK , , , ,

, , 15 , , 14 ! 15 !! 14 , - , 32 , GK , ,

, 1 , 1 !1 !1 , - , 91 , GK , ,

, 4 , 4 !4 !4 , - ! colspan="8" , Defenders , - , 2 , , CB , , , ,

, , 16 , , 16 ! 16 !! 16 , - , 4 , , CB , , , ,

, , 16 , , 16 ! 16 !! 16 , - , 16 , , CB , , , , Rana Gharami , , 7 , , 4 ! 7 !! 4 , - , 21 , , LB , , , , Narayan Das , , 17 , , 16 ! 17 !! 16 , - , 37 , , LB , , , , Abhishek Ambekar , , 4 , , 0 ! 4 !! 0 , - , 31 , , RB , , , , Rohen Singh , , 1 , , 0 ! 1 !! 0 , - , 47 , , RB , , , ,

, , 7 , , 7 ! 7 !! 7 , - , 55 , , RB , , , , Ankit Mukherjee , , 12 , , 9 ! 12 !! 9 , - , 66, , CB , , , , Mohammed Irshad , , 4 , , 4 ! 4 !! 4 , - , 70 , CB , , Sarthak Golui , 5 , 5 !5 !5 , - ! colspan="8" , Midfielders , - , 6 , , CM , , , ,

, , 17 , , 17 ! 17 !! 17 , - , 8 , , CM , , , , Mohammed Rafique , , 15 , , 7 ! 15 !! 7 , - , 14 , , CM , , , , Wahengbam Angousana , , 12 , , 4 ! 12 !! 4 , - , 17 , , MF , , , , Yumnam Singh , , 4 , , 0 ! 4 !! 0 , - , 18 , , CM , , , ,

, , 2 , , 1 ! 2 !! 1 , - , 19 , , AM , , , ,

, , 19 , , 17 ! 19 !! 17 , - , 20 , , MF , , , , Aaron Amadi-Holloway , , 13 , , 4 ! 13 !! 4 , - , 22 , , AM , , , ,

, , 17 , , 15 ! 17 !! 15 , - , 23 , , LW , , , ,

, , 4 , , 4 ! 4 !! 4 , - , 26 , , CDM , , , , Sehnaj Singh , , 6 , , 5 ! 6 !! 5 , - , 29 , , RW , , , , Surchandra Singh , , 13 , , 8 ! 13 !! 8 , - , 33 , , CM , , , ,

, , 1 , , 1 ! 1 !! 1 , - , 35 , , CDM , , , , Milan Singh , , 8 , , 6 ! 8 !! 6 , - , 44 , , CM , , , , Haobam Singh, , 4 , , 4 ! 4 !! 4 , - , 56 , MF , ,

, 5 , 4 !5 !4 , - , 88 , CM , ,

, 3 , 3 !3 !3 , - ! colspan="8" , Forwards , - , 10 , , FW , , , , , Bright Enobakhare , , 12 , , 10 ! 12 !! 10 , - , 12 , , FW , , , , ,

, , 7 , , 4 ! 7 !! 4 , - , 15 , , FW , , , , Balwant Singh , , 3 , , 3 ! 3 !! 3 , - , 30 , , FW , , , ,

, , 2 , , 1 ! 2 !! 1 , - , 34 , , FW , , , ,

, , 7 , , 5 ! 7 !! 5 , -

Goal scorers

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; width:50%;" , - ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Rank ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Name ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ISL ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Total , - , 1 , 6 , , CM , , , ,

, 4 ! 4 , - , rowspan="3" , 2 , 10 , , FW , , , , Bright Enobakhare , rowspan="3" , 3 ! rowspan="3" , 3 , - , 19, , AM , , , ,

, - , 22 , , AM , , , ,

, - , 5 , 20 , MF , , Aaron Amadi-Holloway , 2 !2 , - , rowspan="4" , 6 , 2 , CB , ,

, rowspan="4" , 1 ! rowspan="4" , 1 , - , 4 , CB , ,

, - , 12 , FW , ,

, - , 70 , CB , , Sarthak Golui , - ! colspan="4" , , ''Own Goal'' , 3 !3 , - ! colspan="5" , Total !22 !22

Assists

, rowspan="2" , 3 ! rowspan="2" , 3 , - , 22, , AM, , , ,

, - , rowspan="2" , 3 , 29, , RW, , , , Surchandra Singh , rowspan="2" , 2 ! rowspan="2" , 2 , - , 4 , CB , ,

, - , rowspan="7" , 5 , 10, , FW, , , , Bright Enobakhare , rowspan="7" , 1 ! rowspan="7" , 1 , - , 14 , CM , , Wahengbam Angousana , - , 19, , AM, , , ,

, - , 21 , LB , , Narayan Das , - , 23, , LB, , , ,

, - , 27 , FW , ,

, - , 47, , RB, , , ,

, - , - ! colspan="5" , Total!!17 !17

Clean sheets

{, class="wikitable sortable alternance" ; style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; width:50%;" , - ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Player ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", ISL ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Total , - , 24 , , ,

, 2 ! 2 , - , 1 , , Sankar Roy , 1 ! 1 , - ! colspan="3" , Total !3 !3 , -

Disciplinary record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%; width:70%;" , - ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" rowspan="2", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" rowspan="2", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;" rowspan="2", ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center; width:20%;" rowspan="2", Name ! colspan="4" style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Indian Super League ! style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center; width:25%;" rowspan="2", Remarks , - ! !!!!! , - , 2 , CB , ,

, 4 , 0 , 0 , 0 , Missed the game against

(4 yellow cards) on 27 February 2021 , - , 4 , , CB , , ,

, 5, , 0 , , 0 , , 1 ,

Red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

overturned later after appeal.
Missed the game against

(4 yellow cards) on 23 February 2021 , - , 6 , CM , ,

, 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 8 , CM , , Mohammed Rafique , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 10 , FW , , Bright Enobakhare , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 14 , CM , , Wahengbam Angousana , 2 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 15 , , FW , , , Balwant Singh , 1, , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , - , 18 , CM , ,

, 1 , 0 , 1 , 0 , Missed the game against

(red card) on 15 December 2020. , - , 19 , , AM , , ,

, 4, , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , Missed the game against

(4 yellow cards) on 23 February 2021 , - , 20 , FW , , Aaron Amadi-Holloway , 2 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 21 , LB , , Narayan Das , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 22 , AM , ,

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 26 , CDM , , Sehnaj Singh , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 29 , RW , , Surchandra Singh , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 35 , , CDM , , , Milan Singh , 2, , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , - , 37 , LB , , Abhishek Ambekar , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 44 , MF , , Haobam Singh , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 47 , RB , ,

, 2 , 0 , 1 , 0 , Missed the game against

(red card) on 27 February 2021 , - , 55 , RB , , Ankit Mukherjee , 3 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 56 , MF , ,

, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , Missed the game against

(red card) on 22 January 2021. , - , 66 , CB , , Mohammed Irshad , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , 91 , GK , ,

, 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , -

Club awards

ISL ''Fans' Goal of the Week'' award

This is awarded weekly to the player chosen by fans voting at the Indian Super League website. {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:left" , - !style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Week !style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", !style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", Player !style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", % Votes !style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;", , - , Week 9, , , ,

, , 46.2%, , , - , Week 10, , , , Bright Enobakhare, , 79.9%, , , - , Week 11, , , ,

, , 48.8%, , , - , Week 12, , , ,

, , 55.5%, , , - , Week 17 , ,

, 65.3% , , - , Week 19 , , Bright Enobakhare , 55.8% ,

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 East Bengal F.C. season East Bengal Club seasons

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

Background

Indian Super League entry

After entering the Indian Super League

Transfers

Incoming

Outgoing

Loan in

Loan out

Team

First-team squad

Other players under contract

Coaching staff

Kit

Pre-season

Pre-season friendlies

Competitions

Overall

Overview

Indian Super League

Summary

= November

= December

= January

= February

League table

Result summary

Results by round

Matches

Statistics

Appearances

Goal scorers

Assists

Clean sheets

Disciplinary record

Club awards

ISL ''Fans' Goal of the Week'' award

See also

Notes

References

External links