The 2017–18 season is East Bengal FC's 98th season in existence. The club has won the Calcutta Football League this season for the record consecutive 8th time. The Red and Gold Brigade finished 4th in the much-awaited 2017–18 I League campaign, coming ever so close once again. East Bengal reached the final of the inaugural Indian Super Cup being held at Bhubaneshwar but lost to Bengaluru FC by 4–1.
Preseason overview The club roped in I League winning coach Khalid Jamil as their head coach from Aizawl FC and physio Djair Miranda Garcia from arch-rivals Mohun Bagan who was pivotal to Mohun Bagan's success in recent years. East Bengal retained their star striker Willis Deon Plaza and brought in I League winning Midfielder Mahmoud Amnah from Aizawl FC. East Bengal also roped in 3 more players from Aizawl FC, wingers Brandon Vanlalremdika, Laldanmawia Ralte and Left Back Lalramchullova. The Red and Gold Brigade are hoping to seal the Calcutta Football League championship and set an octa-title record of winning it for the 8th consecutive year. East Bengal also roped in the star midfielder Katsumi Yusa from their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan who would be playing in the I League after 4 seasons playing for the Green and Maroons.
Team
First-team squad
{|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;"|Nationality !style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;"|Position !style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;"|Date of Birth (Age) |- !colspan=5 style="background:#ffcd31; color:#d71a23; text-align:center;"|Goalkeepers |- |1 |Ubaid CK | |GK
|12 |Luis Barreto | |GK
|31 |Dibyendu Sarkar | |GK
|32 |Mirshad Michu | |GK
!colspan=5 style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;"|Defenders |- |3 |Arnab Mondal (captain) | |CB
|4 |Lalramchullova | |RB/LB
|14 |Eduardo Ferreira | |CB
|16 |Gurwinder Singh | |CB
|18 |Mehtab Singh | |RB
|23 |Kanishka Mazumdar | |CB |— |- |24 |Salam Ranjan Singh | |RB/LB/CB
|25 |Samad Ali Mallick | |RB
|29 |Deepak Kumar | |LB
|37 |Rahul Ghosh | |LB
!colspan=5 style="background:#ffcd31; color:#d71a23; text-align:center;"|Midfielders |- |5 |Khalid Aucho | |CDM
|6 |Mahmoud Amnah | |CM/AM
|7 |Cavin Lobo (vice-captain) | |CM/AM
|8 |Mohammed Rafique | |CM
|10 |Katsumi Yusa | |AM/LW/RW
|11 |Gabriel Fernandes | |RW/AM
|17 |Laldanmawia Ralte | |RW
|21 |Surabuddin Mollick | |RW
|27 |Nikhil Poojari | |RW
|30 |Brandon Vanlalremdika | |LW
|35 |Yami Longvah | |LW
|38 |Prakash Sarkar | |CDM/RB
|40 |Ansumana Kromah | |CAM
!colspan=5 style="background:#d71a23; color:#ffcd31; text-align:center;"|Forwards |- |44 |Dudu Omagbemi | |FW
|19 |V P Suhair | |FW
|22 |Jobi Justin | |FW
Technical staff Position Name Coach Khalid Jamil Technical director Subhash Bhowmick Goalkeeper coach Abdul Siddiqui Physical Trainer Djair Miranda Garcia Manager Monoranjan Bhattacharya Assistant coach Ranjan Chowdhury Club Doctor Dr. Shantiranjan Dasgupta Team Media Officer Gautam Roy Team Observer Tushar Rakshit
Transfers
Players retained No.Pos.Name31GK Dibyendu Sarkar12GK Luis Barreto3DF Arnab Mondal16DF Gurwinder Singh18DF Mehtab Singh25DF Samad Ali Mallick26DF Koushik Sarkar8MF Mohammed Rafique7MF Cavin Lobo27MF Nikhil Poojari9FW Willis Deon Plaza
Transfers in No.Pos.NamePrevious TeamMonth5DF Carlyle MitchellSan Juan Jabloteh F.C.August24DF Salam Ranjan SinghBengaluru FCAugust6MF Mahmoud AmnahAizawl FCAugust17MF Laldanmawia RalteAizawl FCAugust30MF Brandon VanlalremdikaAizawl FCAugust4DF LalramchullovaAizawl FCAugust11MF Gabriel FernandesChurchill BrothersAugust20MF Richard CostaChurchill BrothersAugust21MF Surabuddin MollickChurchill BrothersAugust23DF Tanmoy GhoshMohun BaganAugust14DF Eduardo FerreiraMohun BaganOctober10MF Katsumi YusaMohun BaganOctober13MF Armand BazieRainbow FCOctober15FW Charles Do Vale De SouzaChennai City F.C.October44FW Dudu OmagbemiChennaiyin FCJanuary40MF Ansumana KromahMohun BaganJanuary5MF Khalid AuchoOFK BeogradFebruary
Loaned out No.Pos.NameLoaned ToTill26DF Koushik SarkarKenkre F.C.End of Season
Released No.Pos.NameMonthRemarks5DF Carlyle MitchellOctoberCarlyle Mitchell suffered an injury which would make him sit out for rest of the season.20MF Richard CostaJanuaryRichard Costa was released by East Bengal. He joined Churchill Brothers.15FW CharlesJanuaryCharles was released by East Bengal for poor performance. He was replaced by Dudu Omagbemi.9FW Willis PlazaJanuaryWillis Plaza was released by East Bengal after the 2nd Kolkata Derby for his poor performances. He joined Churchill Brothers.13MF Bazie ArmandJanuaryBazie Armand was released by East Bengal for his poor performances. He joined Minerva Punjab F.C. for the rest of the season.
Season overview
August The 7 times defending champions started the Calcutta Football League campaign in style as they defeated the newly promoted side Rainbow FC 4–1 with V P Suhair scoring a hat-trick on his debut, thus becoming the 4th East Bengal player after Ashim Moulick (1963), Shyam Thapa (1966) and Bikash Narzinary (2010) to score a hat-trick on debut. Surabuddin Mollick scored the second hat-trick of the season for East Bengal as he came in from the bench to net 3 against Peerless FC in the second half.
September East Bengal drew 2–2 against Mohammedan Sporting at Kalyani Stadium in the Mini Derby. Willis Plaza scored the third hat-trick for the season for East Bengal when he took on Tollygunge Agragami just before the big Derby. Maintaining their undefeated streak, East Bengal went on to win the league to win the Calcutta Football League for a record consecutive 8 times, bettering their own record of 1970–75. Mohun Bagan drew 2–2 in the derby which helped East Bengal secure their 8th consecutive league win via Goal Difference as both teams were on 23 points from 9 games. East Bengal was crowned champions for a record 39th time.
October Following the win in the Calcutta Football League, East Bengal decided to play few Pre Season Friendlies against ISL teams. East Bengal would play against Bengaluru FC, FC Pune City, FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC.
East Bengal also roped in defensive midfielder Armand Bazzie from Rainbow FC after impressing coach Khalid Jamil in trails. Carlyle Mitchell had to be released as he sustained an injury which would keep him out of action for the rest of the season. Former Mohun Bagan defender Eduardo Ferreira was brought in as the replacement.
November East Bengal drew 1–1 against Bengaluru FC in the first preseason game while lost 3–1 in the second match against the same opponents. FC Pune City won the 3rd preseason game by a close margin 2–1. East Bengal came back in style as they won the next two preseason games, 2–1 against FC Goa and 3–1 against Jamshedpur FC. Armand Bazzie gained a lot of praise in the preseason games, while Mahmoud Amnah and Katsumi Yusa formed a formidable pair which is providing hopes for Red and Gold fans for the upcoming I League, which East Bengal has not won since 2004. East Bengal started off the I League campaign with a 2–2 draw against the defending champions Aizawl FC. East Bengal squandered a 2-goal lead scored by Eduardo Ferreira and Katsumi Yusa to get equalized in the dying seconds of the match. Next up they face their arch-rivals in the first I League Kolkata Derby of the season, when they face Mohun Bagan on 3 December at the Salt Lake Stadium.
December East Bengal lost the first I League Kolkata Derby of the season by a 1–0 margin after Mohun Bagan defender Eze Kingsley scored the solitary goal in the 39th minute from a Sony Norde corner. East Bengal fought hard in the second half but could not break the Mohun Bagan defence. This is one of the worst starts to East Bengal's I League campaign in recent years. East Bengal faced Shillong Lajong FC at Barasat Stadium on 9 December next. East Bengal thumped Shillong Lajong to a 5–1 victory with a brace from ex Aizawl FC man Laldanmawia Ralte and one each Mahmoud Amnah, Eduardo Ferreira and Katsumi Yusa. Lajong captain Samuel Lalmuanpuia scored the consolation goal for them. East Bengal faced Churchill Brothers at Barasat Stadium on 16 December next where in a crunch game East Bengal snatched the 3 points in the dying minute of the game when Willis Plaza scored a header from a Katsumi Yusa corner to make it 3–2 for East Bengal. Plaza netted a brace while assisted one for Laldanmawia Ralte who scored his 3rd goal for the campaign. East Bengal faced Chennai City FC on 22 December away at Coimbatore next where in tough conditions East Bengal managed to win their first away game of the season by a margin of 2–1. Katsumi Yusa opened the scoring while Charles put in the second for them. East Bengal now sit at the second spot in the league with 10 points from 5 games. East Bengal faced Gokulam Kerala FC at Salt Lake Stadium on 27 December next and in a disarrayed game in a chilly Kolkata winter evening, East Bengal managed a 1–0 win courtesy of a Mohammed Rafique screamer from 25 yards out in the 44th minute. East Bengal managed to grab hold of the lead which earned them important 3 points and took them to the top of the table via goal difference to Minerva Punjab FC who lost earlier the same day. East Bengal faced NEROCA FC away at Imphal on 30 December next where in tough away conditions East Bengal managed to get a point after conceding a late equalizer in the 89th minute. Katsumi Yusa put East Bengal ahead in the 12rh minute, however Willis Plaza pulled his hamstring in the 40th minute which made East Bengal to play defensive and hence conceded the late equalizer. East Bengal end the calendar year 2017 on Top of the League Table.
January East Bengal faced Indian Arrows away at Delhi on 2 January next and fielded a squad without start man Willis Plaza who carried an injury from the last game against NEROCA FC. Young Jobi Justin started in place of Willis Plaza. East Bengal managed to get an early lead when Mahmoud Amnah scored from a free kick in the 13th minute. Katsumi Yusa doubled the lead in the 16th minute after receiving a ball from Amnah from the right. East Bengal managed to hold onto a 2–0 lead and came out with important 3 points from a tough away game. East Bengal now sit on top of the league table with 17 points from 8 games. East Bengal faced Churchill Brothers away at Tilak Maidan in Goa on 8 January next and dropped 2 valuable points after drawing 1–1 against the bottom-placed side in the league table. East Bengal went ahead with a terrific header by young Jobi Justin from a Laldanmawia Ralte cross from the right. East Bengal were leading the proceedings in the match when suddenly from a counter-attack Churchill's new signing Mechac Koffi scored a blinder from outside the box. East Bengal now has 18 points from 9 games with 9 more games to go. East Bengal released their foreign import Charles after a series of poor performances by the Brazilian. He was replaced by Dudu Omagbemi who joined for his second stint for the Red and Golds after 2014–15 Season where he scored 20 goals for East Bengal in all competitions. East Bengal faced Aizawl FC away at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl on 16 January next wherein tough altitude conditions East Bengal managed a goalless draw against the defending champions. A lack-luster display from the Red and Golds along with poor attacking cost East Bengal vital 2 points before the return Kolkata Derby of the I League, which also meant East Bengal now trail by 6 points to League leaders Minerva Punjab FC with 8 more matches to go.