Kingfisher East Bengal F.C.
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| Full name | Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club | ||
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| Founded | 1920 | ||
| Ground | Salt Lake Stadium (Capacity: 120,000) |
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| Owner | Kingfisher Beer (50%) Vijay Mallya (50%) |
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| Chairman | Dr Pranab Dasgupta | ||
| Manager | Trevor Morgan | ||
| League | I-League | ||
| 2010–11 | I-League, 2nd | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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 Current season |
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Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club are an Indian professional football club based at Kolkata. They are known to be one of the best footballing sides in India. They have won the most IFA Shields in Indian Football and are tied for the most National Football League and Durand Cup championships with huge rival Mohun Bagan A.C..
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[edit] History
On a humid afternoon on 28 July 1920 Mohun Bagan A.C. was scheduled to clash with Jorabagan in a Coochbehar Cup tie. The later took the field minus their star halfback Sailesh Bose. Mohun Bagan's Club's Vice- President and Industrialist Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri pleaded for Bose's inclusion with the club authorities but to no avail. An annoyed Chaudhuri immediately severed all connections with his old club and formed a new one along with Raja Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri, Bose, Ramesh Chandra (Nasha) Sen and Aurobinda Ghosh. The new club established on 1 August 1920 was christened East Bengal FC as the founders hailed from that region of Bengal.
Life started off hard for East Bengal Club as they struggled to win any championship. Eventually though East Bengal Club came into limelight and ultimately got the first championship during the IFA Shield by winning in 1943. The Club again won the IFA Shield and the Calcutta Football League in 1945.
East Bengal Club is the only club in India who was invited by Romania Youth Festival Committee to participate in their football tournament at Bucharest in the year 1953.
East Bengal have a record of winning the Calcutta football league for 6 years in a row between 1970 and 1975. The club have a record of winning 23 trophies from Indian capital New Delhi which includes sixteen Durand Cup and seven DCM Trophy titles.
In 1970, East Bengal created history by defeating Pas Club of Iran by a margin of 1-0 in the IFA Shield final. It was the first victory of an Indian club over foreign team since the independence. East Bengal have a glorious past record against the foreign clubs.
In 1998, the name of the club was changed from East Bengal Club to Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club after the producers of Kingfisher beer, the United Breweries Group became 50% stakeholder and the main sponsor of the club.
In July 2003, East Bengal became the first Indian club to win a continental competition of repute, when they won the ASEAN Club Championship held at Jakarta beating BEC Tero Sasana in the final. They even became the first club in India to win back to back National Football League titles in 2003 and 2004.
[edit] Crest
In 1930, India was swept over by Gandhi’s Satyagraha which had an effect on football. Indian clubs boycotted the ongoing Calcutta Football League midway through the season due to this. Amidst much confusion, Royal Regiment was declared winners in the first division. However, East Bengal, in spite of being well ahead in the second division, was not allowed to be promoted to the First Division. They suspected Mohun Bagan’s hand behind the league boycott to thwart East Bengal’s promotion to the First Division. Thousands of East Bengal fans and officials decided to hold a protest march at the East Bengal Ground. It was at this march that flaming torches were carried by the protestors. This gave the club officials the idea of a torch being the club emblem, which has stuck to this day.[1]
[edit] Colors
The colors of East Bengal are red and gold. The home jersey consists of a red and gold jersey with black shorts and red socks while the away jersey consists of a white jersey and white socks and black shorts.
[edit] Stadiums
Kingfisher East Bengal F.C. have been using both the Salt Lake Stadium and the East Bengal Ground sense Salt Lake Stadium opened in 1984. As of today the Salt Lake Stadium is used for East Bengal's I-League, AFC Cup, and Federation Cup games. The East Bengal Ground is used for the Calcutta Football League matches.
[edit] Supporters
East Bengal currently have one of the biggest fan bases in India with club rival Mohun Bagan at the same number of fans. Currently East Bengal supports run their own fan site for East Bengal known as East Bengal - The real power.[2]
[edit] Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
[edit] Kit manufactures
- 2007-2011: Reebok
- 2011–present: Nivia
[edit] Shirt sponsors
- 2007–present: Kingfisher Beer
[edit] Players
[edit] First-team squad
- As of 29 December 2011.[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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[edit] Notable players
[edit] Current staff
- As of 30 October 2011.[4]
| Position | Name |
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| Manager | Trevor Morgan |
| Assistant manager | Ranjan Chowdhury |
| First team coach | Gopal Ghosh |
| Goalkeeping coach | Atanu Bhattachary |
| Fitness coach | Vacant |
| Physiotherapist | Rajesh Basak |
| Club doctor | Dr. S R Dasgupta |
[edit] Honors
[edit] International
- Winners (1): 2003
[edit] Domestic
- Runners-up (1): 2010-11
- National Football League (until 2006)
- Winners (7): 1978, 1980, 1985, 1996, 2007, 2009, 2010
- Runners-up (6): 1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2011
- Winners (3): 1997, 2006, 2011
- Runners-up (3): 2003, 2008, 2010
- Winners (23): 1961, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002
- Runners-up (4): 1969, 1977, 1998, 2003
- Winners (15): 1951, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1978, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2004
[edit] Performance in AFC competitions
- Asian Club Championship: 2 appearances
- AFC Cup: 5 appearances
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 5 appearances
[edit] References
- ^ 1930s: The Dark Decade
- ^ http://www.eastbengaltherealpower.com/index.php
- ^ "Current Squad". East Bengal Club. http://www.eastbengalfootballclub.com/club/currentSquad.asp. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ "Squad Management". East Bengal Club. http://www.eastbengalfootballclub.com/club/squadManagement.asp. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
[edit] External links
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