Looking back at when East Bengal played Leicester City

East Bengal put up a commendable performance against the Premier League side.

East Bengal have played a lot of well-known international teams over their history, but they’ve only played a Premier League champion once. That happened way back in 2004, when they managed to face Leicester City in a special exhibition game.

The Red & Gold Brigade were invited to the Pepsi Max Challenge held in England. It was a special celebratory tournament held in celebration of the Foxes’ 120th anniversary. East Bengal were recognized for it after winning the ASEAN Club Championship in 2003 and the National Football League in the 2003-04 season.

They went into the Pepsi Max Challenge tournament as the reigning champions of India and faced Leicester in the opening game at the Walker Stadium in Leicester – which is now known as the King Power Stadium.

East Bengal refused to be intimidated by the level of opposition and actually gave a stiff fight to Leicester. They produced a respectable performance, led by their captain Bhaichung Bhutia. The Indian striker, who had played in England through his stint at Bury FC, knew what it took to compete against an English side.

The Red & Gold Brigade kept the scoreline tied in the first half and only conceded in the 69th minute via a penalty. East Bengal were also unfairly denied a blatant penalty in the game, which annoyed Bhutia.

The then East Bengal skipper criticized the refereeing in the game, saying afterwards: “I was disappointed not to get the decision as I know there was definitely contact. As for their penalty, I thought it was very harsh. It was a good match, I think that the team made India proud.”

East Bengal’s impressive performances gained them a lot of praise in India and even managed to impress some of the decision-makers at Leicester. The Foxes’ CCO at the time, Paul Mace, hailed the Indian giants for bringing a lot of eyes to the tournament.

He said: “We estimate that 30 per cent of Saturday’s crowd came from the Asian community, most of them visiting us for the first time — not just from Leicester, but from throughout the country.

“We have had a lot of very positive feedback and look forward to welcoming them (East Bengal) to the Walkers Stadium again in the future. There was a fantastic carnival atmosphere.” That marked the last time that East Bengal played a game against an English team – with their hard-fought performance marking one of the best ones from an Indian club in foreign soil in the 21st century.