Very tempting job prospects there :p

Might be interesting to see a journeyman once you make India the best nation in the world! :p
 
Very tempting job prospects there :p

Might be interesting to see a journeyman once you make India the best nation in the world! :p

Yes, the world will soon tremble at the might of Indian football lol :p
 
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2018 Durand Cup

As is the norm here we begin our domestic campaign with the Durand Cup.

First run in 1888 the Durand Cup is the 3rd oldest football competition in the world. The oldest in Asia. The tournament offers free entry to spectators & as such can attract some big crowds, while the prize money (30k) makes it a tad more appealing then it otherwise would be.

Having said all that, & despite the boards insistence that we win, I simply do not care!

For me it is a chance to get a look at a few youngsters who otherwise would not get a chance in the first team & that's about it.

Results

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Kalighat MS vs East Bengal

With the ACC Final only a few days away I essentially selected my under 18's squad for our first Durand Cup match. Not a great first run for the youngsters. Cant say that anyone stood out for me, lets just move on, ay?

PIFA Sports vs East Bengal

With the Confederation Cup out of the way I selected a much stronger line up here. Would be embarrassing to be knocked out at the group stage 2 years running. Diogo Salomao scored both goals, winning us the game single handedly.

Semi Final

East Bengal vs Eagles (Ind)

Selected a real mish mash of first teamers, backups & youths for the semi final & it took them extra time to see off a brave Eagles side. Aryn Williams got the goal & the POM while, once again, my youngsters failed to impress.

Durand Cup Final
Fatorda Stadium, Attendence: 27,300

Royal Wahingdoh vs East Bengal

Line ups

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Couldn't of selected my strongest 11 if I wanted to here with 14 players away with their respective national squads. I have however selected my best available players, this is after all the final & there is prize money to be won!

Match Report

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As expected we dominated the match. Started with the attacking 442 but had to switch to my "Dempo" tactic after just 30 minutes. They were getting too many chances on the counter.

From that point it was all one way traffic but try as we might we just couldn't make the break through. The game went to extra time & then on to penalties.

In the end it was the under dog who prevailed in an epic shoot out 16-17. Lalkamal Bhowmick missing the penalty to hand them the cup.

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It has not been a good start to the year for Lalkamal first missing the ACC final to suspension & now missing a penalty in a cup final. Oh well, we all have our bad runs & as I said at the top I don't really care, lets just move on.
 
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Lippo May Leave India?

Speculation is mounting that in demand East Bengal manager C.J. Lippo may leave his post sooner than expected. It is rumoured the Confederation Cup winning boss is being chased by many high profile clubs both in Asia & Europe including the likes of Peterbourough United, Hansa Rostock & Barcelona B with the ever increasing number of offers becoming increasingly difficult to turn down.

It was thought Lippo would stay on with East Bengal in an attempt to win the League & play in the Asian Champions League for the first time but it remains to be seen if the popular boss can resist the lure of testing himself at a higher level.




 
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India Handed Tough Group

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The draw for the Asian Cup was completed today with India being handed a tough group with Australia, Iraq & Malaysia joining India in group F. The "Blue Tigers" will now face a difficult task in escaping the group with outsiders suggesting the team may do well just to get a win.

Asked for his thoughts on the group India manager Wim Koevermans had this to say

"Obviously Australia & Iraq will prove to be tough competition & Malaysia will be no pushovers so yes it will be tough but we never expected to have an easy time of it." Koevermans continued
"We will go out there & do our best to make the nation proud."

The tournament kicks off on January 4th with India's first game, a must win clash with Malaysia, on January 7th.


 
Hey mate! malaysian here! hoping that Malaysia will somehow manage to qualify from the group!
Anyway, love your stories! ^^)
 
Hey mate! malaysian here! hoping that Malaysia will somehow manage to qualify from the group!
Anyway, love your stories! ^^)

Cheers mate, nice to hear from people from different parts of the world. Love that about football!

what do you think the odds would be that Malaysia & India qualify for the next round?
 
Cheers mate, nice to hear from people from different parts of the world. Love that about football!

what do you think the odds would be that Malaysia & India qualify for the next round?

Just by looking at the rankings, I would say Malaysia would need a miracle to qualify! hahaha but perhaps India with players that came from your club could pull an upset over the Australian! :D
 
Just by looking at the rankings, I would say Malaysia would need a miracle to qualify! hahaha but perhaps India with players that came from your club could pull an upset over the Australian! :D

I would be a bit conflicted about that lol :p
 
get yourself that National job mate :p

Have been trying, seems as though once you get it, it's yours until you don't want it anymore. Perhaps a poor Asian Cup will see it become available?
 
2018 Indian Super Cup
Wednesday 12/12/2018

Pune FC vs East Bengal
Tua Devi Lal Stadium, Attendence 9,765

Line ups

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Still trying to decide how my best line-up is going to look with the foreign player restrictions. For this game we can only have 3 in the starting 11 so I have had to be a bit creative. Nadhim in the DM spot? Dika as a centre mid? Not sure how these things will go but there is only one way to find out. Pune have, for the most part, recovered from their injury crisis & look pretty solid.

Match Overview

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We took an early lead through young CB Subhashish Bhattacharya after a long throw was nodded into his path by Mustafa Nadhim, the youngster first hit the near post before pouncing on the rebound & slotting his follow up effort in off the far post.

What ensued was a highly entertaining, yet highly frustrating, game full of attacking football, plenty of chances &, unfortunately for us, poor finishing. Diogo Salomao had a rare bad day in front of goal spurning countless chances & in the end it cost us as Pune eventually took one of their chances & levelled the game.

With no added time we found ourselves facing our second penalty shoot-out in as many games!

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FML! 2 Cups, 2 shoot-outs, 2 loses! We converted 1 of 4 penalties WTF is up with that? I'm beginning to think this may not be our year but lets hope we use up all our bad luck in these pre-season cups, win the I-League & book our spot in the Champions League!

 
Unfortunate not to take that game really, but what can you do. Good to see you carry on in India, rather than moving to Europe!
 
Unfortunate not to take that game really, but what can you do. Good to see you carry on in India, rather than moving to Europe!

;) I'm not going anywhere just yet mate, very happy at East Bengal. However, my contract is up at the end of the season &, given the interest in my services, i may request a long term contract with a considerable pay rise :) :) :)
 
What do the standing look like for the indian league look like now and the cup placings?
 
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India Squad Announced

Wim Koevermans has today unveiled his 25 man preliminary squad for the Asian Cup. The talking point is the inclusion of 16 year old East Bengal defender Subhashish Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya, who recently become the youngest ever Indian Super Cup goal scorer, has played a grand total of 5 league games for his club but was instrumental in the Kolkata clubs run to the Confederation Cup title & has been a permanent fixture at the back for East Bengal ever since.

Asked about the youngsters shock inclusion in the squad manager C.J. Lippo Responded "I am delighted that Wim has seen fit to give Subhashish the call up. He is a very impressive young man with a bright future in this game. I'm sure, if called upon, he wouldn't let anyone down."

The rest of the squad is as follows.

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2018/19 Federation Cup



Group Stage

East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan

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This was one of the most bizarre matches I've played on this years FM. At half time we had taken 8 shots at goal & led 6-0!!! Everything went in longshots, free kicks, shots from narrow angles, it didn't matter, it was in the back of the net. 2nd half was business as usual, though obviously with a 6 goal lead we didn't bother to show up.

East Bengal vs Lajong

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This game swung back & forth wildly. They took the lead early before we fought back to first equalise then take the lead before the break. After the break they reeled a couple of quick goals off to once again take the lead & that's where the swinging stopped.

East Bengal vs Goa SC


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Iban Salvador returned from injury in this match & single handedly saw off the challenge of Goa SC. A hat trick to the striker the only positive from an otherwise poor performance.

East Bangal vs Rangdajied Utd

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Another bizarre game people. Iban Salvador backing his hat trick return match up with 4 goals here! That's 7 in two!!! As far as the game is concerned it was another deceptively easy win we didn't fully deserve.



And the award for laboured footballing pun of the year goes too......

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Report-eriffic!!!



Group B Final Table

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A very tight final table in the end. Lajong finish 3rd & miss out on the semi's despite getting the same number of points as we did to finish first. Unlucky.


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Award News

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About time my man Lalkamal received a bit of recognition. He has been exceptional for us over the last 18 months or so, very well deserved!

 
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