East Bengal Club is an Indian association football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal, which competes in the top tier of Indian football. The club was formed in August 1920 when the Jorabagan Club's vice-president, Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, resigned. He did so after the club sent out their starting eleven with the notable exclusion of defender Sailesh Bose, who was dropped from the squad for undisclosed reasons when they were about to face Mohun Bagan in the Coochbehar Cup semi-final on 28 July 1920. He, along with Raja Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri, Ramesh Chandra Sen and Aurobinda Ghosh, formed East Bengal on 1 August 1920. East Bengal started playing in the Calcutta Football League, 2nd division, in 1921. In 1925, they qualified for the first division for the first time and since then they have won many Indian football titles.
East Bengal joined the National Football League (NFL) at its inception in 1996 and is the only club to have played every season to date, including those after the rebranded I-League succeeded the NFL in 2007. East Bengal won the National Football League in 2000–01, 2002–03 and 2003–04 and were runners up seven times, the most by any Indian football club. Among other trophies, East Bengal has won the Calcutta Football League 39 times, the IFA Shield 28 times, the Federation Cup eight times and the Durand Cup 16 times.
There have been thirty-three permanent and nine caretaker coaches of East Bengal since 1920; P. K. Banerjee has managed the club in five different spells, spanning nine seasons, having won thirty-one trophies, the most by anyone in the history of the club.
This chronological list comprises all those who have held the position of coach of the first team of East Bengal since their foundation in 1920. Each coach's entry includes his dates of tenure and the club's overall competitive record (in terms of matches won, drawn and lost), honours won and significant achievements while under his care. Caretaker coaches are included, where known, as well as those who have been in permanent charge.
Coaching history
From 1920 to 1960, team management and coaching was undertaken by the club's executive committee members and senior players. The subsequent coaching role was known originally as "secretary-coach", as the coach also managed the club's affairs off the pitch as well as on it. Former club secretary Late. J. C. Guha was one of the pioneers of this role as he took over the club in the early 40s and managed the club both on and off the field till he retired in the late 50s and eventually the role of a permanent first team "head coach" was defined and Sushil Bhattacharya was appointed as the first coach by the club in 1961.
1960–1970: Early years
Sushil Bhattacharya was appointed by the club as the first-ever head coach of the senior men's football team in 1961. In his first and only season in charge, he helped the team win the Calcutta Football League title after a gap of 9 years, the IFA Shield title and also the Dr H. K. Mookherjee Shield. The following year, former club legends Poritosh Chakraborty and Promod Dasgupta took charge of the team jointly and led the team to a Rovers Cup title. In 1963, the East Bengal club appointed Amal Dutta as the head coach of the club for the first time and he served the club for two seasons, although without any major success. In 1966, Mohammed Hussein was appointed as the head coach of the team and he helped the team win back the Calcutta League title once again after 5 years. Hussein remained in charge for 3 seasons (1966–67, 1967–68 and 1970–71) and helped the club win 7 major titles including two Calcutta League titles, two Durand Cup titles, two IFA Shield titles and one Rovers Cup title.