# 2015–16 East Bengal FC season

The 2015–16 season is East Bengal FC's 96th season in existence. The club had won the Calcutta Football League this season and became the runners of 2015 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup.

## Pre-Season Overview

The club signed Do Dong-hyun, a South Korean attacking mid-fielder to support the striking part. With the arrival of veteran defender Bello Razaq from Mohun Bagan, the team became stronger and the Red and Gold Brigade are hoping to seal the CFL championship and set another hexa record. With the help of recent performances, The Club clinched to the 74th spot in the recent AFC Club Ranking, the highest among all Indian football clubs.

## Season Overview
### August

The club started their Calcutta Football League (CFL) campaign on 8 August by beating SVF Tollygunge Agragami FC by 1–0. In the next match, against Aryan F.C., the club managed a draw, the only draw of this CFL campaign. Then they went on winning all the matches against Bengal Nagpur Railway, Army XI, Mohammedan S.C., Police AC and Sports Authority of India.

### September

Maintaining their winning streak of August, East Bengal started their September by beating Kalighat Milan Sangha F.C. by 4–3. This fixture was their toughest in this campaign as at a time, the team was trailing by 0-2 and then they managed to win it.
The next fixture of the club was a prestigious Kolkata Derby against their arch rivals Mohun Bagan in which the team managed an easy 4–0 win with two stunning free kicks by Do Dong-hyun, the top scorer of the club, one of which came in just after 82 seconds from the kick off. This win sealed their league victory and their 118th win against their arch rivals. Moreover, it was the club's 6th consecutive CFL championship which is itself a record and they hold a similar 6 consecutive CFL League wins between the period 1970–75.
The last fixture was against Southern Samity on 10 September. East Bengal with their reserved squad managed to win it and became the unbeatable champions of this CFL. Do Dong-hyun became the top scorer of both the club and the CFL.

### October

The club went to play an international tournament in Bangladesh named 2015 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup. The team draw set East Bengal in Group B on the fixture of this tour. Due to the absence of almost all the main and first team players of the club (all out on loan in different clubs of Indian Super League), the junior and reserve bench players had taken part in it. The club brought Orok Essien and Subodh Kumar on loan for the tournament. East Bengal started off well by defeating Bangladesh club Abahani Limited (Chittagong) by 2–1 on 21st Oct 2015. Young Prohlad scored on the match along with Mohammed Rafique. After that the most important player of midfield, Do Dong-hyun, had a knee injury which couldn't let him play for the rest of the tour. The club kept on its winning streak by defeating the current best club of Pakistan K-Electric F.C. by a comfortable margin of 3–1. Then the club had its first draw of the tournament which was against Abahani Limited (Dhaka). Then the club went into the semis where they defeated (on 28th oct 2015) Mohammedan Sporting Club (Dhaka) by 3–0 to enter into the final. Ranti Martins scored a couple on the semis. On 30th Oct 2015, East Bengal FC played the final against Abahani Limited (Chittagong) once again after the very first match. But the young brigade could not seal the victory at the end in spite of taking a lead on the 9th minute by the goal scored by Avinabo Bag. This time East Bengal lost to the Bangladeshi club by 1–3. The brilliant performance of the junior players throughout the tournament came to an end with the defeat in final match. But the fight of the junior brigade were appreciated whole heartedly by the supporters of the club.

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Signed from | Month |
| 21 | MF | Do Dong-hyun | Free Agent | N/A |
| 6 | DF | Bello Razaq | Mohun Bagan | June |
| 43 | FW | Orok Essien (on loan) | | October |
| | MF | Subodh Kumar (on loan) | Tollygunge Agragami | October |

### Out

| Pos. | Name | Sold to | Month | Ref. |
| DF | Safar Sardar | Mohun Bagan | N/A | |
| MF | Raju Gaikwad | Mohun Bagan | N/A | |

## Kit

Supplier: Shiv Naresh / Sponsors: Kingfisher Premium, Peerless
| Home kit | Away kit | Third Kit |

## Technical Staff

| Position | Name |
| Chief coach | Biswajit Bhattacharya |
| Assistant coach | Debjit Ghosh |
| Goalkeeping coach | Sanjay Majhi |
| Defence Coach | Sammy Omollo |
| Physiotherapist | Rajesh Basak |
| Club Doctor | Dr. Santiranjan Dasgupta |
| Team Manager | Manish Banerjee |
| Team Media Officer | Gautam Roy |

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | First match | Last match | Final position |
| Calcutta Football League | 8 August 2015 | 10 September 2015 | Champions |
| Sheikh Kamal Trophy | 21 October 2015 | 30 October 2015 | Runners-up |
| I-League | 10 January 2016 | 24 April 2016 | 3rd |
| Federation Cup | 1 May 2017 | 4 May 2017 | Quarter Finals |

### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Calcutta Football League | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 9 | +20 | 090.00 |
| Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 060.00 |
| I-League | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 043.75 |
| Federation Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Total | 33 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 057.58 |
Last updated: 31 May 2016 Source: Competitions

### Calcutta Football League
#### Table

2015-16 Calcutta Premier Division

#### Fixtures & results

Win  Draw  Loss

### Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup
#### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | East Bengal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 2 | Chittagong Abahani (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 3 | Abahani Limited Dhaka | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | K-Electric | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 0 | |

### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| A1 | De Spin Ghar Bazan | 1 | | | |
| B2 | Chittagong Abahani | 3 | | | |
| B2 | Chittagong Abahani | 3 | B2 | Chittagong Abahani | 3 |
| Group A Group B | Group A Group B | Group A Group B | B2 | Chittagong Abahani | 3 |
| Group A Group B | Group A Group B | Group A Group B | B1 | East Bengal | 1 |
| B1 | East Bengal | 3 | B1 | East Bengal | 1 |
| A2 | Mohammedan Dhaka | 0 | | | |

#### Fixtures & results

Win  Draw  Loss

### I-League
#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bengaluru (C) | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 32 | Qualification to Champions League qualifying play-off |
| 2 | Mohun Bagan | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 32 | 16 | +16 | 30 | Qualification to AFC Cup qualifying play-off |
| 3 | East Bengal | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 25 | |
| 4 | Sporting Goa | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 24 | 20 | +4 | 22 | Withdrew |
| 5 | Mumbai | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 19 | |
* ↑ Mohun Bagan qualified for the 2017 AFC Cup by winning the 2015–16 Federation Cup.
* ↑ Sporting Goa and Salgaocar withdrew from I-League.

#### Fixtures & results

Win  Draw  Loss

### Federation Cup

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Bengaluru FC | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Aizawl | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Aizawl | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | Aizawl (a) | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Sporting Goa | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Sporting Goa | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Sporting Goa | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Mumbai | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Mumbai | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | 8 | Aizawl | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Mohun Bagan | 5 |
| 3 | East Bengal | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Mohun Bagan | 5 |
| 6 | Shillong Lajong (aet) | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Shillong Lajong (aet) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Shillong Lajong | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| | | | | | 2 | Mohun Bagan | 5 | 0 | 5 | | | |
| 2 | Mohun Bagan | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | Mohun Bagan | 5 | 0 | 5 | | | |
| 7 | Salgaocar | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | |

#### Fixtures & results

Win  Draw  Loss

## Statistics
### Appearances

    Players with no appearances are not included in the list.
    As of end of 2015-16 season.
Appearances for East Bengal in 2015–16 season :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | CFL | CFL | I League | I League | Fed Cup | Fed Cup | S.K. Int. Cup | S.K. Int. Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Starts | Apps | Starts | Apps | Starts | Apps | Starts | Apps | Starts |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 13 | GK | | Rehenesh TP | | | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 | | | 10 | 10 |
| 30 | GK | | Luis Barreto | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | | | 17 | 17 |
| 26 | GK | | Abhra Mondal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 31 | GK | | Dibyendu Sarkar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 6 | DF | | Bello Razaq | 8 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 31 |
| 3 | DF | | Arnab Mondal | 3 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 2 | | | 18 | 18 |
| 5 | DF | | Rahul Bheke | 5 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | | | 15 | 13 |
| 45 | DF | | Bernard Mendy | | | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | | | 10 | 9 |
| 28 | DF | | Saumik Dey | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | | | 15 | 13 |
| 38 | DF | | Samad Ali Mallick | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| 19 | DF | | Robert Lalthlamuana | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | | | 8 | 8 |
| 4 | DF | | Narayan Das | | | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | | | 5 | 5 |
| 12 | DF | | Deepak Mondal | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 15 |
| 16 | DF | | Gurwinder Singh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 2 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | | Babu Mondal | 1 | 1 | | | | | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 40 | DF | | Biswajit Saha | 0 | 0 | | | | | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 22 | DF | | Avinabo Bag | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 14 | MF | | Mehtab Hossain | 8 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 2 | | | 24 | 24 |
| 21 | MF | | Do Dong-Hyun | 10 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 23 |
| 8 | MF | | Mohammed Rafique | 9 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 19 |
| 23 | MF | | Bikash Jairu | 8 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | | | 19 | 17 |
| 11 | MF | | Cavin Lobo | 5 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | | | 14 | 5 |
| 15 | MF | | Sanju Pradhan | | | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | | | 11 | 8 |
| 2 | MF | | Sehnaj Singh | | | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | | | 8 | 3 |
| 34 | MF | | Abhinas Ruidas | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 15 |
| 7 | MF | | Harmanjot Khabra | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | | | 17 | 14 |
| 28 | MF | | Shylo Malsawmtluanga | 9 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | | | 18 | 7 |
| 17 | MF | | Joaquim Abranches | | | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | | | 7 | 4 |
| 20 | MF | | Lalrindika Ralte | | | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | | | 4 | 3 |
| 35 | MF | | Anthony Soren | 2 | 1 | | | | | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 36 | MF | | Prohlad Roy | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | | | 5 | 5 | 11 | 11 |
| 18 | MF | | Subodh Kumar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 33 | MF | | Jagannath Sana | 1 | 0 | | | | | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 10 | FW | | Ranti Martins | 6 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 23 |
| 25 | FW | | Jiten Murmu | 6 | 3 | | | | | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| 43 | FW | | Orok Essien | | | | | | | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 27 | FW | | C. S. Sabeeth | | | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | | | 5 | 2 |

### Goal Scorers

    As of end of 2015-16 season.
Goals for East Bengal in 2015–16 season :
| Rank | No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | CFL | I League | Fed Cup | S.K. Int. Cup | Total |
| 1 | 10 | FW | | Ranti Martins | 1 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | 21 | FW | | Do Dong-hyun | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | 8 | MF | | Mohammed Rafique | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 23 | MF | | Bikash Jairu | 1 | 3 | 0 | | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | DF | | Rahul Bheke | 3 | 0 | 0 | | 3 |
| 6 | 6 | MF | | Bello Razaq | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 7 | MF | | Harmanjot Khabra | 2 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 6 | 36 | MF | | Prohlad Roy | 1 | 0 | | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 45 | DF | | Bernard Mendy | | 2 | 0 | | 2 |
| 10 | 14 | DF | | Mehtab Hossain | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 1 |
| 10 | 20 | MF | | Lalrindika Ralte | | 0 | 1 | | 1 |
| 10 | 22 | MF | | Avinabo Bag | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | 25 | FW | | Jiten Murmu | 1 | | | | 1 |
| 10 | 29 | DF | | Saumik Dey | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 1 |
| 10 | 34 | MF | | Abhinas Ruidas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 43 | MF | | Orok Essien | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 29 | 22 | 3 | 9 | 63 |