Red-and-Gold reborn: How East Bengal became ISL champions under coach Oscar Bruzon

‘If you can make one lot of all your winnings,

And risk it with one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start over at your beginning…

Yours is the earth and everything in it…’

Starting from scratch, as Rudyard Kipling wrote in “If,” is often an exercise in uncertainty when building a football team. Failure can send clubs into a spiral. But when it works, it creates a parable of hope, success and joy.

East Bengal, one of India’s most decorated clubs, wrote a similar chapter on Thursday. The team was rebuilt from scratch three times and was the only Indian Super League (ISL) club to do so. But when the alchemy clicked, a 22-year wait for the men’s national title came to an end.

At Kishore Bharati Krirangan, when Inter Kashi lost 1-2 to East Bengal on Thursday, the City of Joy turned red and gold. Anyone who believed a miracle was possible claimed a piece of it, either by running onto the field or crying heavily in the stands.

A team that had never finished above ninth in the ISL was now champions. But the increase was certainly not an overnight success story. The seeds were sown 19 months ago.

East Bengal’s Super Cup title in 2024 might have ended a 12-year trophy drought, but the predictable set-piece-heavy play under coach Carles Cuadrat hardly posed a challenge in the ISL. Oscar Bruzon replaced him and brought with him a ‘my way or the highway’ approach.

Several key players under Cuadrat, including Cleiton Silva, Dimitrios Diamantakos and Madih Talal, left and a new cohort was assembled, one that could be formed according to Bruzon’s plans.

Project reset: Bruzon’s transfers

«When I came here the team was probably a bit out of balance. We suffered from injuries at the beginning of the season and the confidence level of the players was very, very low,» Bruzon told Sportstar.

«It is not easy for a coach to get accepted if they supported the former coach, a high-profile manager who did very good things in India. Even the entire coaching staff was on his side. Many of the players were chosen by him. So for me it was not easy,» he added.

The Spanish manager had broken Abahani Dhaka’s long dominance in the Bangladesh Premier League by winning back-to-back titles with Bashundhara Kings. In East Bengal he brought in that side’s talisman, Miguel Figueira.

Diamantakos, despite steering East Bengal to a victory in the Kolkata derby, parted ways with the club, with Hamid Ahadad replacing him at number 9. However, due to the uncertainty surrounding the ISL, Ahadad made way for Youssef Ezzejjari.

Figueira and Ezzejjari became the attacking axis of the team, while the triumvirate of Mohammed Rashid, Kevin Sibille, both new signings, and Saul Crespo controlled the midfield and defense.

«In my humble opinion, they (East Bengal) have the best side in their history of ISL. Mumbai City, Jamshedpur, FC Goa and Punjab, teams that challenged for the title, do not have a better side than East Bengal,» said Sergio Lobera, head coach of Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

Figueira won the Golden Ball for best player with two goals and four assists, while Ezzejjari won the Golden Boot with eleven goals. Rashid, meanwhile, scored the winner to seal the title against Kashi.

On-field strategy: fluid formations

Unlike Cuadrat, who favored a conventional 4-3-3 with a heavy reliance on set pieces, Bruzon kept his opponents guessing. Be it a 4-5-1 in the ISL opener, a 4-4-2 against Sporting Club Delhi or a 3-4-3 on the counter-attack against Odisha FC.

«In India, people like to talk a lot about formations and systems; it seems that without them you cannot win matches. I am radically against this idea… In one match we can use five or six different formations or systems, and it depends on the players on the field,» Bruzon said.

«Depending on their chemistry, their movement and what we have to do at that particular moment of the match, we use one formation or the other. Our defense system is not the same as our attack.»

That flexibility was highly dependent on constant repetition during training.

Perhaps East Bengal’s biggest advantage was a regular pre-season and a steady core, regardless of the ISL’s uncertain calendar. At a time when Bagan suspended first-team operations, East Bengal forged ahead and laid the foundation for tactical flexibility.

The 2025-2026 season also brought a strange challenge: no second chances. In a truncated single-leg campaign, every match had the potential to derail title hopes, making planning and execution crucial.

Several clubs have also released their foreign players. The three teams that retained their core squads, East Bengal, Bagan and Mumbai City, finished in the top three.

Despite keeping his cards close to his chest, Bruzon was given control over both planning and execution, with his side losing just once in 13 league games. «The line-up and formation? You’ll know for sure, but tomorrow,» became one of his favorite quotes during pre-match press conferences.

But after matches, especially the Kolkata derby, he explained every tactical detail with remarkable clarity.

«Mohun Bagan likes positional players and not vertical players. So we had a plan to trouble their defenders. It worked very well because we created a lot of vertical openings and they were bothered at the back. So I think the plan was perfect,» Bruzon said after the 1-1 draw against Bagan, where his side created at least four clear chances against the play before Edmund Lalrindika finally scored.

Exploits off the field: the collective over the individual

For older clubs like East Bengal, one of the biggest challenges lies in dealing with the noise: media chatter, comments from former players and the constant pressure to keep the dressing room together.

Bruzon often hit back at critics, both at press conferences and in personal interviews. But beyond the walls of the locker room, he kept the team aligned with his vision.

«A coach sometimes has to be a psychologist. We often had players with suspensions or injuries… but when the players do poorly, they need love and trust,» Bruzon explained.

«We put a lot of effort into making our players feel like they are a team. A lot of people say, ‘We are a family.’ But it’s not a word, it’s an attitude. One of the things we do is rotate a lot, so everyone gets a chance. When you have a full team involved in the game, you can get the best out of everyone.”

The contingent also set realistic goals: not the title, but a place in the top six.

«If you keep in mind the previous seasons, it is difficult to go from lower positions in the rankings all the way to the top. Sometimes it happens, but normally you work step by step. It is a process. We have to trust it, and it is always game by game,» said Mohammed Rashid, who scored the winner against Kashi.

Bruzon also emphasized what he called a “knockout mentality,” an unwillingness to throw in the towel. East Bengal earned 12 points this season by losing positions in the ISL, including a 3-3 draw against Bengaluru and the title-winning match against Inter Kashi.

Without those points it would have finished in ninth place again, the same position as last season.

Extended preparation and a consistent core under Bruzon ultimately paid off: second-place finishes in the Super Cup and the IFA Shield, along with an unbeaten record against Bagan in regular time throughout the 2025-2026 season.

However, pressure in the boardroom finally caught up with Bruzon in the final few rounds as he decided to walk away at the end of the season.

And in the last match, the magician, along with his comrades, earned one heap of all his winnings, risked it with one turn of pitch-and-toss, and emerged victorious, eventually becoming champion of India.

Published on May 22, 2026