When was the last time East Bengal won the Indian men’s top flight?

East Bengal’s wait for the top-level men’s national title has been more than two decades. In 2026, it is still on the brink of capturing the title, which is now called the Indian Super League (ISL).

Before the last day of play, Sports stars looks at what happened when East Bengal last won the title in April 2004. Here are excerpts from that match:

East Bengal maintained its date with history in style and retained the eighth edition of the National Football League with two rounds of matches remaining.

The opportunity was perfectly chosen as the Red-and-Gold Brigade performed the feat in front of a raucous home crowd at the Salt Lake Stadium, beating bottom-placed Chennai visitors Indian Bank 3-0 in a 20th round match on Wednesday.

Celebrations intensified as old records plummeted to make way for new ones, as the city giant equaled its traditional rival – Mohun Bagan – to win the crown for a third time. There are sixteen matches left on the schedule, but the championship had already been decided as East Bengal continued its incredible lead to collect 46 points.

The schedule now floats around determining the other positions below.

However, East Bengal still has a record to chase – breaking the 50-point mark on the table. East Bengal now travel to Goa to play the remaining two matches against Churchill Brothers (May 2) and Haywards Sporting Clube (May 12).

The match on Wednesday was reduced to a formality as the Chennai side did not have the ammunition to undermine the hosts’ resolve. Baichung Bhutia, Brazilian Douglas Da Silva and Dipankar Roy scored in that order.

The only option left for Indian Bank in the match was to defend, and the visitor deployed half of the team’s strength at the back. Bhutia drew first blood and completed such a move in the 19th minute.

Published on May 21, 2026