ISL 2024-25: East Bengal FC Season Review

The Torchbearers had an underwhelming 2024-25 ISL campaign.

East Bengal FC suffered an ultimate heartbreak in their eventful 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) season. Even though the Red & Gold Brigade picked up the most number of points for a single ISL campaign in their history, they failed to get into the ISL playoffs despite a late push for a place.

The Red & Gold Brigade lacked consistency throughout the season, which turned out to be their downfall under Cuadrat. They prepared for the campaign in a pretty good manner, investing heavily in the 2024 summer window and making some prominent signings. However, Cuadrat was sacked for their underwhelming start to the campaign and replaced by fellow Spaniard Oscar Bruzon.

Despite Bruzon making them play better football, they just didn’t have that clinical edge to push for an ISL playoffs spot late in the season. They ended up finishing in ninth place as a sense of frustration lingered among the club’s passionate fans.

East Bengal FC’s performance in ISL 2024-25

Position at the end of the Season: 9th

Number of Games Played Total: 24

Wins: 8

Draws: 4

Losses: 12

Total Goals Scored (GF): 27

Total Goals Conceded (GA): 33

Overall Points: 28

Top Performers

PV Vishnu

The 23-year-old was able to break through as a squad player and transformed into a firm regular during the 2024-25 ISL campaign. The trickster winger was often their biggest goal-scoring threat, as he got himself into the key pockets of spaces to torment opposition defenders. Vishnu injected as a breath of fresh air for his side, while showcasing impressive dribbling skills and also crossing the ball into the box with accuracy.

He scored four goals and provided three assists in the ISL league phase, which included goals in wins over Chennayin FC, Punjab FC and Kerala Blasters. While Vishnu could’ve gotten more assists had his teammates been more clinical with their finishing, his proactive nature in the frontline often gives East Bengal FC the push they required going forward.

David Lalhlansanga

David Lalhlansanga has become a beloved figure among the East Bengal FC supporters after his proactive performances during the 2024-25 ISL campaign. Even though he only started six games in the league phase, the 23-year-old never allowed his bench role to hold him down.

He was a menacing substitute option for the Red & Gold Brigade, putting his utmost energy into harassing defenders after coming on. Lalhlansanga scored four goals in the ISL, out of which three came as an impact player of the bench.

He played an expert role in tormenting tired centre-backs with his clever movement in the final third and produced some impressive finishes for his goals. Lalhlansanga definitely proved that he deserves more playing time at East Bengal FC, which he might get next season.

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Underperformer of the Season

Dimitrios Diamantakos

East Bengal FC had a lot of expectations for goals when they signed Dimitrios Diamantakos to bolster their frontline. They paid quite a lot of money for the Greek forward, who had won the Golden Boot in the 2023-24 ISL campaign. However, Diamantakos had a pretty underwhelming debut season for the Red & Gold Brigade.

He only scored four goals in 18 appearances for them in the ISL, managing one goal in just over four games for them. Diamantakos failed to turn up in the big games for East Bengal FC, often letting his emotions get the better of him and failing to convert chances as clinically as required.

The Greek striker couldn’t adjust his style according to East Bengal FC’s and seemed to be frustrated to having to drop deep to help with the link-up play.

Top Performances of the Season

East Bengal 4-2 Punjab FC

Mohammedan Sporting 1-3 East Bengal

East Bengal 1-0 NorthEast United

Managerial Report Card

East Bengal FC had quite high expectations from Carles Cuadrat from the start of the 2024-25 ISL campaign after investing heavily on new players for him. However, the Spaniard failed to get his side performing at an acceptable level in the start of the campaign. After East Bengal FC lost their first three ISL games of the campaign, Cuadrat was shown the exit door for failing to get the best out of his players.

After a short stint of Bino George’s spell as interim manager, Oscar Bruzon was roped in to steady the ship. To his credit, Bruzon was able to inspire them to play much better football and get results. From the late November-Christmas period, East Bengal even won four of their five ISL games.

However, they struggled for consistency under Bruzon. The Spaniard’s transfer decisions for the January window were topsy-turvy. Richard Celis failed to really make an impact, but Raphael Messi Bouli proved to be an impactful signing. The injuries to his side and underperforming foreign players didn’t really help Bruzon.

The Spaniard was able to ensure East Bengal FC picked up more points in the 2024-25 ISL campaign than they have in the past. But he failed to get the very best out of his squad, as they failed to secure a top-six finish. Bruzon did tighten up East Bengal FC’s defensive shape as they made it tough for opponents to score past them, but the goal-scoring issues remained.

Lessons Learned from the Season

The biggest lesson which East Bengal FC probably learnt from the 2024-25 campaign was that spending big money doesn’t automatically bring success. A lot of their signings from the 2024 summer window failed to really inspire the team and their winter transfer work wasn’t the best either.

The Torchbearers have realized the need to get more reliable, energetic foreign players rather than just rely on experience in that aspect. The likes of Cleiton Silva, Hector Yuste and even Hijazi Maher failed to perform at their best and the Red & Gold Brigade need to be much better in selecting their foreign contingency.

Moreover, considering how well some of their younger players played, the Kolkata side also need to learn to give more opportunities to them rather than rely on the experienced lot. They also need to do better in terms of improving the disciplinary record of their players after seeing their players pick up the most number of red cards in the 2024-25 ISL season. There is also a need to ensure that players play in their natural roles than out of position, which caused them problems especially in the left-back area.

Fans View

East Bengal FC are blessed to have a highly passionate fan base who are ready to stick through all the highs and lows with the club. However, the Red & Gold Brigade ultimately let their supporters down with their inability to finish in a top-six place at the end of the league phase.

There is growing frustration among the East Bengal FC fans because of some of the questionable decision-making over recent years. The supporters have voiced their concern and anger at some of the signings made by the management in recent years, especially with the foreign players who have failed to impress.

Some fans are even calling for changes to occur at the upper-management level and showcased a lot of disdain on social media. The Red & Gold Brigade’s faithful can only hope that those within the club can learn from their mistakes and be smarter with the squad building to usher in positives in the 2025-26 season.

What’s Next for East Bengal?

East Bengal FC ’s 2024-25 campaign is not fully over yet. They will be having to defend their Super Cup title in the upcoming competition in April. That remains their last shot at winning any kind of silverware as they at least aim to end a frustrating campaign on a high note.

After that is over, although, some important decisions are in the fray for the club management. One involves the future of Oscar Bruzon, who is currently contracted until the end of this campaign. The Torchbearers’ performance in the Super Cup could ultimately decide Bruzon’s fate as the management ponders on whether to keep him or look to appoint another, more experienced manager.

The club are also expected to be proactive in the summer transfer window. That involves in being smart on which players to offload and much more clever with the incomings. East Bengal FC need to perfectly nail their recruitment if they aspire to challenge for top titles next season.

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