East Bengal FC appointed Carles Cuadrat as new Head Coach on a two-year contract.
Former Indian Super League (ISL) winner began his coaching stint in India as the Assistant Coach of Bengaluru FC (BFC) in 2016. He stayed as assistant coach till 2018. In this period, Bengaluru FC won Federation Cup, inaugural edition of Super Cup and also reached AFC Cup Final.
Cuadrat had a phenomenal record in Indian Super League with Bengaluru FC in between 2018 to 2021 as Head Coach. In his debut season, Bengaluru FC won the ISL for the first time. The season brought multiple records, including an 11-game undefeated run in the league and a six-game winning run. They became the first team to finish on top of the regular season twice in succession and the first team to win the title after finishing top in the league phase. In 2019–20, Bengaluru reached the ISL play-offs after finishing third in the league phase. Under Cuadrat, Bengaluru set new records in 2019–20, becoming the first team to keep 11 clean sheets and went on a 17-match unbeaten run at home, 2 full seasons not losing in their Kanteereva Stadium. Towards the end of the 2019–20 season, Bengaluru beat Paro FC 9–1 at the Kanteerava in the AFC Cup qualifiers; their biggest-ever win.
After leaving India in the 2020-21 season, Cuadrat joined the Cypriot Club Aris Limassol as an Assistant Coach and helped it reach the playoffs after being promoted to Cyprus’ first division. He was most recently working as an Assistant Coach at the Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.
Speaking about Cuadrat’s appointment as head coach, Debabrata Mukherjee of East Bengal said, “We are pleased to bring Cuadrat on board. We are confident that his vast wealth of experience and impressive track record in Indian football will help us build a strong team to achieve greater heights in Indian football.”
He added, “We would also like to thank Stephen Constantine for his services to the Club during the past season. We wish him the very best in all his future endeavours.
Expressing his delight at joining East Bengal FC, Cuadrat said, “I am very proud to have been appointed as the Head Coach of East Bengal for the next 2 years. It’s very exciting that a Club with so much history that has won so many trophies in Indian football has given me the opportunity to drive the Club’s vision forward.”
“I am delighted to return to India, a country that I love dearly and where I have had many happy moments. I will work with all my might to create new moments of happiness with the huge fan base of the club across the globe and hope to witness the stands at the stadiums filled with red & gold”.
Picture Courtesy: Social Media
