With a star line-up comprising Dudu Omagbemi and Ranti Martins, East Bengal unveiled their Harmonjot Singh Khabra-led strong squad in front of thousand of fans in a glittering function at a plush city mall here this evening.
Amid chants of 'three cheers for East Bengal' from the fans, Kolkata giants introduced their 41 of the 43 players and 3-member coaching staff one by one as it was the duo of New Zealand World Cupper Leonida Christos Bertos and Nigerian striker Dudu who were absent during the team unveiling.
"It's really a thrilling experience to see so many fans turning out for this. Hope you turn out during the match in a similar way and support us. I promise to win all the trophies including the I-League this season," Khabra said addressing the gathering.
East Bengal begin the season against Mohammedan Sporting in a Calcutta Football League Premier Division fixture on August 10.
The squad
Goalkeepers: Abhijit Mondal, Abhra Mondal, Luis Barreto, Dibyendu Sarkar, Sandip Pal, Tyson Caiado
Defenders: Arnab Mondal, Raju Gaekwad, Deepak Mondal, Robert Lalthalmuana, R Dhanarajan, Soubhik Pal, Amit Chakraborty, Wasim Mallick, Abhishek Das, Safar Sardar, Baidyanath Das, Saumik Dey and Gurwinder Singh (Vice Captain).
Midfielders: Leonida Christos Bertos, Alvito D Cunha, Cavin Lobo, Harmanjot Singh Khabra (captain), Antony Soren, Subodh Kumar, Mehtab Hossain, Kishan Bag, Dipankar Roy, Abinash Ruidas, Bibakananda Banerjee, Prohlad Roy, Sukhwinder Singh, Dipak Tirkey, S Malsawmtulunga and Mohammad Rafique.
Forwards: Dudu Omagbemi, Joaquim Abranches, Ranti Martins, Nilendra Dewan, Manash Sarkar, Jiten Murmu, Baljit Sahni and Baldeep Singh.
Coach: Armando Colaco, Assistant Coach: Sanjoy Majhi, Goalkeeping Coach: Sailen Sarkar.
