The 2024–25 season is the 105th season of East Bengal Football Club and their fifth season in the Indian Super League, and the twenty-ninth consecutive season in the top flight of Indian football.
Background
East Bengal was active at the end of the previous season, roping in French attacking midfielder Madih Talal from Punjab. The club also roped in four Indian players – David Lalhlansanga, Provat Lakra, Debjit Majumder, and Mark Zothanpuia to bolster the ranks. The club also got Premier 1 club licensing for the 2024–25 season, announced by the AIFF. The club also extended the contract of Mohammad Rakip and signed Nishu Kumar on a permanent basis. The club also roped in the Golden Boot winner of the 2023–24 Indian Super League – Dimitrios Diamantakos on a two-year contract from Kerala Blasters. The club also announced that Cleiton Silva would continue as the captain of the side and Naorem Mahesh Singh would be the vice captain for the team. East Bengal also roped in the Indian national team midfielder Jeakson Singh on a record breaking transfer amount from Kerala Blasters on a four-year deal. On 12 August 2024, after a long saga, East Bengal signed Indian national team defender Anwar Ali from Delhi FC on a 5-year permanent deal, making him one of the highest paid Indian footballers.
Anwar Ali Controversy The controversial transfer of Anwar Ali from Mohun Bagan Super Giant to Delhi FC and thereafter to East Bengal was appealed and heard by the AIFF Players Status Committee (PSC) on 3 August 2024 and stated that the termination of contract by Anwar Ali with Mohun Bagan Super Giant was 'unjust'. On 10 August, all three parties were again summoned and heard by the PSC and AIFF PSC provided the No Objection Certificate (NOC), at his own risk, for purposes of player registration and registration on the AIFF CRS (Central Registration System). On 12 August, Anwar officially completed his transfer from Delhi to East Bengal. On 10 September, the AIFF PSC announced their verdict on the case where Anwar Ali was handed a suspension of four months, with Mohun Bagan Super Giant to receive a compensation of from Anwar Ali, East Bengal and Delhi and both East Bengal and Delhi have been handed a two-window transfer ban. On 12 September, East Bengal filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court asking for a stay order on the decision of the AIFF PSC. On 13 September, Justice Sanjeev Narula directed AIFF PSC to withdraw its order of September 10 and asked for a fresh hearing of the case on 14 September. After hearing the matter, the committee would pass a detailed order. On 19 September, the AIFF PSC officially handed Anwar Ali the NOC allowing him to play for East Bengal in the Indian Super League until the next meeting on the issue.
Transfers
Incoming DateNameSigned fromFeeRef 14 June 2024 9 FW Dimitrios Diamantakos Kerala Blasters Free Transfer 18 June 2024 14 FW David Lalhlansanga Mohammedan Sporting Free Transfer 22 June 2024 88 MF Mark Zothanpuia Hyderabad Free Transfer 27 June 2024 8 MF Madih Talal Punjab Free Transfer 28 June 2024 22 DF Nishu Kumar Kerala Blasters Free Transfer 2 July 2024 3 DF Provat Lakra Jamshedpur Free Transfer 3 July 2024 24 GK Debjit Majumder Chennaiyin Free Transfer 19 July 2024 6 MF Jeakson Singh Kerala Blasters Undisclosed 1 August 2024 44 DF Héctor Yuste Mohun Bagan SG Free Transfer 13 August 20244CB Anwar Ali Delhi FCUndisclosed 7 January 20257LW Richard Celis Academia Puerto CabelloFree Transfer5 February 202528FW Messi Bouli Shijiazhuang GongfuFree Transfer
Outgoing Exit DateNameSigned toFeeRef 1 June 2024 6 MF Ajay Chhetri Bengaluru End of Loan 1 June 2024 7 DF Harmanjot Singh Khabra Released 1 June 2024 9 MF Víctor Vázquez Released 1 June 2024 17 DF Mandar Rao Dessai Chennaiyin Free Transfer 1 June 2024 28 DF Aleksandar Pantić Released 1 June 2024 40 DF Tingku Kangujam Released 1 June 2024 91 FW Felicio Brown Forbes Muangthong United Free Transfer 5 July 2024 15 MF Mobashir Rahman Jamshedpur Free Transfer 3 September 2024 16 DF Sarthak Golui Inter Kashi Free Transfer 4 September 20241GK Kamaljit Singh Odisha FCFree Transfer13 September 202420FW VP Suhair Gokulam KeralaReleased13 September 20248CM Edwin Sydney Vanspaul ChennaiyinReleased
Team
First-team squad The below list contains the names and details of the players registered for the first-team squad for East Bengal. This list does not include any reserve player who has never played in the first-team squad.
No.NameDate of birth (age)Goalkeepers13Prabhsukhan Singh GillGK Kerala Blasters 2023 2026 63 024Debjit MajumderGK Chennaiyin 2024 2026 23 027Aditya PatraGK Bengaluru 2022 2026 23 051Kamaludheeen A. K.GK Kerala 2024 2027 0 0Defenders3Provat LakraRB Jamshedpur 2024 2026 16 04Anwar AliCB Delhi FC 2024 2029 22 15Lalchungnunga CB Sreenidi Deccan 2022 2026 78 212Mohammad Rakip RB Mumbai City 2022 2026 70 019Hijazi MaherCB Al-Hussein 2023 2026 42 422Nishu KumarLB Kerala Blasters 2023 2025 44 133Gursimrat Singh GillCB Mumbai City 2023 2026 15 038Hira MondalLB NorthEast United 2024 2025 29 044Héctor YusteCB Mohun Bagan SG 2024 2025 25 063Monotosh ChakladarCB Diamond Harbour 2024 2026 11 088Mark ZothanpuiaLB Hyderabad 2024 2027 11 0Midfielders6Jeakson SinghDM Kerala Blasters 2024 2028 27 28Madih TalalAM Punjab 2024 2026 17 321Saúl CrespoDM Odisha 2023 2026 48 1123Souvik ChakrabartiCM Hyderabad 2022 2025 70 129Naorem Mahesh Singh (vice–captain)LW Kerala Blasters 2022 2027 100 1430Vanlalpeka GuiteAM Aizawl 2023 2026 8 135Gunraj Singh GrewalDM Chandigarh FA 2023 2026 9 061Tanmay DasCM Railway FC 2022 2027 30 262Aman C. K.RW Mumbai City 2022 2026 36 1066Shyamal BesraCM Calcutta FC 2022 2027 17 480Ajad Saheem TAM Golden Threads 2024 2026 7 182P. V. VishnuAM Muthoot FA 2023 2026 71 1684Sayan BanerjeeLW Kalighat MS 2023 2026 30 6Forwards7Richard CelisFW Academia Puerto Cabello 2025 2025 9 09Dimitrios DiamantakosFW Kerala Blasters 2024 2026 28 910Cleiton Silva (captain)FW Bengaluru 2022 2025 80 2711Nandhakumar SekarFW Odisha 2023 2026 55 1214David LalhlansangaFW Mohammedan Sporting 2024 2027 25 659Jesin TKFW Kerala United 2022 2026 37 2128Messi BouliFW Shijiazhuang Gongfu 2025 2025 8 3
New contracts No.Pos.DateNameRef. 21 MF 11 June 2024 Saúl Crespo 10 FW 20 June 2024 Cleiton Silva 19 MF 25 June 2024 Hijazi Maher 12 DF 28 June 2024 Mohammad Rakip
Current technical staff
PositionName Head coach Óscar Bruzón Assistant coach Bino George Goalkeeping Coach Javier Pinillos Strength & Conditioning Coach Javier Sánchez Physiotherapist Head of Football Thangboi Singto Assistant Physiotherapist Tejas Lasalkar Performance Analyst Aromal Vijayan Team Manager Pratim Kumar Saha Team Doctor Dr. Mustufa Poonawalla Masseur Rajesh Basak Masseur Robin Das
Preseason and friendlies East Bengal started their preseason under coach Carles Cuadrat on 3 July 2024 with six weeks in hand before the AFC Champions League Two preliminary match as the prime target. On 13 July, East Bengal played a friendly match against Kalighat MS and won 4–3. They then won 2–1 against Inter Kashi. However, they lost 1–3 to Army Red, with Dimitrios Diamantakos the only scorer for East Bengal.
Matches
Exhibition Match: Chief Minister's Cup On 2 September 2024, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Super Giant played an exhibition Kolkata Derby match for the promotion of football in the state of Uttar Pradesh at the K. D. Singh Babu Stadium, Lucknow. East Bengal lost 3–2 on penalties after the match ended 1–1 in regulation time with Suhail Bhat scoring first for Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Muhammed K. Ashique scoring the equaliser for East Bengal in the second half.
Competitions
Overall record
AFC Champions League Two
East Bengal qualified for the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two preliminary round after being champions of the 2024 Indian Super Cup. East Bengal faced Altyn Asyr of Turkmenistan in the preliminary round match on 14 August 2024 as the Salt Lake Stadium in a single-legged playoff match, however, they lost 3–2 with David Lalhlansanga and Saúl Crespo scoring for East Bengal. The winners progressed into the AFC Champions League Two group stages while East Bengal progressed to the 2024–25 AFC Challenge League group stage.
Matches
AFC Challenge League
East Bengal qualified for the 2024–25 AFC Challenge League group stages directly after losing to Altyn Asyr in the preliminary round of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two. On 22 August, the group stage draw was held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and East Bengal was grouped in Group A along with hosts Paro from Bhutan, Bashundhara Kings from Bangladesh and Nejmeh from Lebanon with all matches of the group stage being played at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan. On 26 October, East Bengal opened their campaign with a 2–2 draw against host Paro with Madih Talal and Dimitrios Diamantakos scoring for East Bengal. On 29 October, East Bengal faced Basundhara Kings and won 4–0 with goals from Dimitrios Diamantakos, Souvik Chakrabarti, Nandhakumar Sekar and Anwar Ali. On 1 November, East Bengal faced the Lebanon champions Nejmeh in a must win tie and won 3–2 with Dimitrios Diamantakos scoring a brace apart from an own goal from Baba Abdulai Musah as East Bengal finished top of the table to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Group stage
Knockout stage
Matches
Durand Cup
East Bengal participated in the 2024 Durand Cup and was grouped into Group A alongside Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Downtown Heroes and Indian Air Force and would play their group stage matches in Kolkata. East Bengal started their campaign on 29 July against Indian Air Force and won 3–1 with goals from David Lalhlansanga, Dimitrios Diamantakos and Saúl Crespo after conceding early in the first half. On 7 August, East Bengal faced Downtown Heroes in the second match of the campaign and won 3–1 again with goals from Madih Talal, Saúl Crespo and Jesin TK. On 18 August, East Bengal was supposed to face Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the Kolkata Derby match however, the game was cancelled due to security reasons and both teams were awarded a point each as East Bengal finished as one of the best runner-up to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Durand Cup. On 21 August, East Bengal faced Shillong Lajong in the quarter-final of the Durand Cup and suffered a 2–1 defeat. Brazilian forward Marcos Rudwere opened the scoring for Lajong, but Nandhakumar Sekar equalised for East Bengal. However, Figo Syndai scored the winner for Lajong as East Bengal was eliminated from the tournament.
Group stage
Knockout stage
Matches
Indian Super League
Summary East Bengal began their Indian Super League campaign away from home against Bengaluru on 14 September at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium with a 1–0 defeat with Vinith Venkatesh scoring the solitary goal of the match while, East Bengal defender Lalchungnunga was sent off for double caution. On 22 September, East Bengal faced Kerala Blasters away at Kochi and lost 2–1 with P. V. Vishnu scoring for East Bengal, however East Bengal conceded twice and faced their second defeat of the campaign. On 27 September, East Bengal faced Goa at the Salt Lake Stadium and lost 2–3 with Madih Talal and David Lalhlansanga on the scoresheet for East Bengal while Borja Herrera scored a hattrick for Goa as East Bengal succumbed to a third straight defeat in the Indian Super League. On 30 September, coach Carles Cuadrat resigned as the head coach after a string of poor performance and Bino George had been appointed as the interim head coach.