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The 2003–04 season was East Bengal Football Club's 8th season in the National Football League, and also marked the club's 84th season. East Bengal successfully defended their league title from the previous season, competing in the 2003-04 NFL. They have also won the 2003 Calcutta Football League and the 2003 ASEAN Club Championship. They became runners-up in the 2003 Super Cup, 2003 Durand Cup and 2003 IFA Shield.

First-team squad

East Bengal FC squad for the 2003–04 season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IND Sangram Mukherjee 2 DF  IND M Suresh 3 DF  IND Deepak Mondal 4 DF  IND Mahesh Gawli 5 MF  IND Malsawmtluanga 6 MF  IND Kulothungan 8 MF  IND Sasthi Duley 9 MF  IND Alvito D'Cunha 10 FW  NGA Mike Okoro 11 FW  IND Bijen Singh 12 FW  IND Bhaichung Bhutia 13 GK  IND Sandip Nandy 14 MF  IND Chandan Das 15 MF  BRA Douglas Silva

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  IND Debjit Ghosh 17 DF  IND Surkumar Singh (c) 18 MF  IND Subhash Chakraborty 19 FW  IND Raman Vijayan 22 DF  NGA Suley Musah 26 FW  BRA Cristiano Júnior — GK  IND Arpan Dey — GK  IND Jitu Chhetri — DF  IND Surya Bikash Chakraborty — DF  IND Subhashish Roy Choudhury — DF  IND Anit Ghosh — MF  IND Dipankar Roy — MF  IND Sujoy Dutta — MF  IND Arunava Sarkar — MF  IND Tushar Rakshit

• Coach: Subhash Bhowmick
• Physical trainer: Kevin Jackson
• Team doctor: Dr. S R Dasgupta
• Team manager: Swapan Ball

Stadiums

Kingfisher East Bengal F.C. have been using both the Salt Lake Stadium and the East Bengal Ground sense Salt Lake Stadium opened in 1984. As of today the Salt Lake Stadium is used for East Bengal's I-League, AFC Cup, and Federation Cup games. The East Bengal Ground is used for the Calcutta Football League matches.

Competitions

Overall

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Calcutta Football League

20 June 2003 1	East Bengal	4–1	Eastern Railway F.C.	Kolkata
	Surkumar Singh 1', 81' Debjit Ghosh 38' Bhaichung Bhutia 41'		Henry Odogo 62'	Stadium: East Bengal Ground

23 June 2003 2	East Bengal	3–0	West Bengal Police	Kolkata
	Bhaichung Bhutia 15' Alvito D'Cunha 35', 89'			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

30 June 2003 3	East Bengal	3–0	Wari AC	Kolkata
	Suley Musah 52', 68', 80'			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

2 July 2003 4	East Bengal	3–0	Mohammedan AC	Kolkata
	Bhaichung Bhutia 42', 71' Alvito D'Cunha 77'			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

5 July 2003 5	East Bengal	3–0	Mohun Bagan	Kolkata
	Suley Musah 23' Bhaichung Bhutia 68', 83'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

11 August 2003 6	East Bengal	2–1	Everready Association	Kolkata
	Douglas De Silva 37' Bhaichung Bhutia 70'		Ernest Jeremiah 47'	Stadium: East Bengal Ground

16 August 2003 7	East Bengal	2–0	Tollygunge Agragami	Kolkata
	Bhaichung Bhutia 78', 79'			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

19 August 2003 8	East Bengal	5–0	Bharati Sangha	Kolkata
	Mike Okoro 9', 71' Suley Musah 30', 40' Malsawmtluanga 60'			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

23 August 2003 9	East Bengal	4–1	Mohammedan Sporting	Kolkata
	Mike Okoro 36', 40' Bijen Singh 67' Surkumar Singh 86'		Dipendu Biswas 83'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

25 August 2003 10	East Bengal	4–0	Railway F.C.	Kolkata
	Mike Okoro 3', 13', 22' Malsawmtluanga 29'			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

28 August 2003 11	East Bengal	3–0	Calcutta Port Trust	Kolkata
	Suley Musah Mike Okoro 45' Kulothungan			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

7 September 2003 Championship Group	East Bengal	1–2	Mohammedan Sporting	Kolkata
	Mike Okoro 51'		Sheikh Sanjib 49' Abdul Rauf Khan 87'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

10 September 2003 Championship Group	East Bengal	2–2	Everready Association	Kolkata
	Suley Musah 40' Mike Okoro 85'		Eugene Gray 44' Ernest Jeremiah 88'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

13 September 2003 Championship Group	East Bengal	2–0	Mohammedan A.C.	Kolkata
	Bijen Singh 51' Sashti Duley 86'			Stadium: East Bengal Ground

16 September 2003 Championship Group	East Bengal	2–1	Tollygunge Agragami	Kolkata
	Kulothungan 37' Raman Vijayan 66'		Manik Barman 73'	Stadium: East Bengal Ground

2 November 2003 Championship final	East Bengal	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Mohun Bagan	Kolkata
	Suley Musah 60'		Ashim Biswas 23'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

ASEAN Club Championship

The ASEAN Club Championship is an international club football competition between domestic champion clubs sides run by the ASEAN Football Federation. Formerly known as the LG Cup, sponsored by LG Electronics. LG described the competition as a "social marketing experiment". Qualification to the competition was for champions clubs from AFF-affiliated countries only, plus the champions from India in 2003. After winning the 2002–03 National Football League, East Bengal was invited to the inaugural 2003 ASEAN Club Championship held at Jakarta, Indonesia. Top clubs from South-East Asia participated in the tournament which included the favourites BEC Tero Sasana from Thailand who already reached the 2002–03 AFC Champions League Finals. The star-studded team consisted of Golden Ball winner of 2002–03 AFC Champions League: Therdsak Chaiman. Other top teams like 2002 Malaysia Super League Champions Perak FC and Liga Indonesia 2002 Champions Petrokimia Putra participated in the tournament.

East Bengal was grouped alongside BEC Tero Sasana and Philippine Army in Group D. They lost the first match against the favourites BEC Tero Sasana 1–0, courtesy of a solitary goal from Therdsak Chaiman. The Red and Gold brigade bounced back in style as they defeated the Philippine Army 6–0, with Bhaichung Bhutia scoring all 6 goals, becoming the only Indian player to score a double hattrick in an International game to date. In the Quarter Finals, East Bengal faced Persita Tangerang of Indonesia. Goals from Bhaichung and Bijen Singh ensured a 2–1 win for the Kolkata side. Bhaichung was again on the scoresheet when East Bengal faced Petrokimia Putra in the Semi-Final. The score was 1–1 after 120 minutes and the Red and Golds won 7–6 in the shootout. On 26 July 2003, East Bengal made history as they defeated the favourites BEC Tero Sasana 3–1 with goals from Mike Okoro, Bhaichung and Alvito D'Cunha, hence becoming the first Indian club to win a top-level officially recognised tournament in foreign soil. Bhaichung became the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals. Sandip Nandy was adjudged as the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

Group stage

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
BEC Tero Sasana	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6
East Bengal	2	1	0	1	6	1	+5	3
Philippine Army	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9	0

Bracket

	Quarter-Finals				Semi-Finals				Final
	20 July 2003
	Petrokimia Putra (a.e.t.)	3
					24 July 2003
	Singapore AF	2
					Petrokimia Putra	1 (6)
	21 July 2003
					East Bengal	1 (7)
	Persita Tangerang	1
									26 July 2003
	East Bengal	2
									East Bengal	3
	20 July 2003
									BEC Tero Sasana	1
	Perak	2
					24 July 2003
	Samart United	0
					Perak	1
	21 July 2003
					BEC Tero Sasana	3			Third place
	BEC Tero Sasana	2
									26 July 2003
	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai	1
									Petrokimia Putra	3
									Perak	0

Matches

  Win  Draw  Loss

14 July 2003 Group stage	BEC Tero Sasana	1–0	East Bengal	Jakarta, Indonesia
	Therdsak Chaiman 85'			Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium

16 July 2003 Group stage	East Bengal	6–0	Philippine Army	Jakarta, Indonesia
	Baichung Bhutia 20' (pen.), 50', 53', 70', 75', 88'			Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium

21 July 2003 Quarter-final	Persita Tangerang	1–2	East Bengal	Jakarta, Indonesia
	Ilham Jayakesuma 62'		Baichung Bhutia 53' Bijen Singh 76'	Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium

24 July 2003 Semi-final	Petrokimia Putra	1–1 (a.e.t.) (6–7 p)	East Bengal	Jakarta, Indonesia
	Jaenal Ichwan 23'	Report	Baichung Bhutia 58'	Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium
	Penalties
	Jaenal Ichwan Indraju Pdudu Putra Daniel Fernando Sasi Kirono Chan Jhe Ekwe Loko		Baichung Bhutia Bijen Singh Suley Musah Shylo Malsawmtluanga Chandan Das Douglas da Silva Surkumar Singh Muttah Suresh

26 July 2003 Final	East Bengal	3–1	BEC Tero Sasana	Jakarta, Indonesia
	Mike Okoro 20' Baichung Bhutia 46' Alvito D'Cunha 69'		Panai Kongprapun 58'	Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Referee: Jimmy Napitupulu (Indonesia)

Federation Cup

31 July 2003 Round of 16	East Bengal	5–0	HAL	Kolkata
	Bijen Singh 4', 31' Chandan Das 58', 83' Dipankar Roy 68'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

4 August 2003 Quarter Final	East Bengal	0–1	Vasco S.C.	Kolkata
			Sushanth Mathew 85'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

IFA Shield

20 September 2003 Group stage	East Bengal	1–0	Eastern Railway F.C.	Siliguri
	Bijen Singh 8'			Stadium: Kanchenjunga Stadium

22 September 2003 Group stage	East Bengal	9–0	Wari AC	Siliguri
	Dipankar Roy 9', 26', 35', 42' Bijen Singh 21', 40' Kulothungan 46' Douglas De Silva 75' Malsawmtluanga 81'			Stadium: Kanchenjunga Stadium

26 September 2003 Semi Final	East Bengal	2–0	Everready Association	Kolkata
	Douglas De Silva 29' Dipankar Roy 55'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

Durand Cup

4 November 2003 Group stage	East Bengal	3–2	Indian Bank	Delhi
	Bhaichung Bhutia 16', 49' Mike Okoro 80'		Mahendra Mani 2' Syed Shabir Pasha 84'	Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium

6 November 2003 Group stage	East Bengal	3–0	Dempo	Delhi
	Mike Okoro 51' Malsawmtluanga 82' Kulothungan 90'			Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium

8 November 2003 Semi Final	East Bengal	3–0	Air India	Delhi
	Malsawmtluanga 22' Chandan Das 36' Mike Okoro 59'			Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium

10 November 2003 Final	East Bengal	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)	Salgaocar	Delhi
	Mahesh Gawli 62'		Tomba Singh 59'	Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium
	Penalties
	Suley Musah Chandan Das Malsawmtluanga Bhaichung Bhutia Mike Okoro		Climax Lawrence Tomba Singh Dharamjit Singh Jatin Bisht Bello Razaq

Super Cup

14 November 2003 Super Cup	East Bengal	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Mahindra United	Kolkata
	Suley Musah 19'		Felix Aboagye 45'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium
	Penalties
	Suley Musah Kulothungan Chandan Das Malsawmtluanga Sujoy Dutta		Odartey Lawson Khalid Jamil Jules Alberto Abhishek Yadav

National Football League

30 November 2003 1	Salgaocar	2–1	East Bengal	Goa
	Felix Ibrebru 24' Micky Fernandes 29'		Douglas De Silva 38'	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium

4 December 2003 2	Vasco	1–1	East Bengal	Goa
	Amaechi 82'		Dipankar Roy 83'	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium

16 December 2003 4	East Bengal	2–1	Churchill Brothers	Kolkata
	Cristiano Júnior 45' Bhaichung Bhutia 90'		Yusif Yakubu 4'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

20 December 2003 5	East Bengal	1–0	Tollygunge Agragami	Kolkata
	Cristiano Júnior 1'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

27 December 2003 6	Dempo	3–2	East Bengal	Goa
	Stanley Colaco 8' Sunday Seah 25' Nacimento Silveira 75'		Cristiano Júnior 1' Bhaichung Bhutia 7'	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium

31 December 2003 7	Mahindra United	0–1	East Bengal	Mumbai
			Cristiano Júnior 68'	Stadium: Cooperage Ground

8 January 2004 8	East Bengal	2–0	Sporting Clube de Goa	Kolkata
	Bhaichung Bhutia 38' Cristiano Júnior 73'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

12 January 2004 9	Indian Bank	1–1	East Bengal	Chennai
	Kamaldeen Fuard 25'		Cristiano Júnior 22'	Stadium: JL Nehru Stadium

16 January 2004 10	East Bengal	4–0	Mohammedan Sporting	Kolkata
	Alvito D'Cunha 45' Bhaichung Bhutia 70' Cristiano Júnior 75' Mike Okoro 89'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

22 January 2004 11	East Bengal	2–1	Mohun Bagan	Kolkata
	Dipankar Roy 23' Mike Okoro 75'		Ashim Biswas 41'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

29 February 2004 12	East Bengal	3–1	Salgaocar	Kolkata
	Bhaichung Bhutia 5', 45' Subhash Chakraborty 53'		Bello Razaq 40'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

5 March 2004 13	East Bengal	2–0	Mahindra United	Kolkata
	Cristiano Júnior 35' Bhaichung Bhutia 87'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

11 March 2004 14	East Bengal	1–0	Vasco	Kolkata
	Cristiano Júnior 43'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

19 March 2004 16	East Bengal	3–0	JCT Mills	Kolkata
	Bhaichung Bhutia 45+1' Mike Okoro 51' Cristiano Júnior 60'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

12 April 2004 17	Tollygunge Agragami	0–1	East Bengal	Kolkata
			Bhaichung Bhutia	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

15 April 2004 18	Mohammedan Sporting	0–3	East Bengal	Kolkata
			Cristiano Júnior 59', 62' Bhaichung Bhutia 65'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

25 April 2004 19	Mohun Bagan	1–2	East Bengal	Kolkata
	Ashim Biswas 16'		Bhaichung Bhutia 53' Cristiano Júnior 60'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

28 April 2004 20	East Bengal	3–0	Indian Bank	Kolkata
	Bhaichung Bhutia 19' Douglas De Silva 73' Dipankar Roy 83'			Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium

9 May 2004 21	Churchill Brothers	1–0	East Bengal	Goa
	Santa Singh 75'			Stadium: Fatorda Stadium

12 May 2004 22	Sporting Clube de Goa	1–2	East Bengal	Goa
	Adbullatif Seriki 84'		Cristiano Júnior 46', 60'	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium

Statistics

Top Scorers

Goal Scorers for East Bengal FC in 2003–04 season
Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	CFL	ASEAN	Fed Cup	IFA Shield	Durand Cup	Super Cup	NFL	Total
1	12	FW		Bhaichung Bhutia	9	9	0	0	2	0	12	32
2	10	FW		Mike Okoro	10	1	0	0	3	0	3	17
3	26	FW		Cristiano Júnior	—	—	—	—	—	—	15	15
4	22	DF		Suley Musah	9	0	0	0	0	1	0	10
5	6	MF		Dipankar Roy	0	0	1	5	0	0	2	8
6	11	FW		Bijen Singh	2	1	2	3	0	0	0	6
7	9	MF		Alvito D'Cunha	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	5
	15	MF		Douglas De Silva	1	0	0	2	0	0	2	5
	5	MF		Shylo Malsawmtluanga	2	0	0	1	2	0	0	5
				Own Goals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Sponsors

• Main Sponsor: Kingfisher (Parent Company United Breweries Group is 50% stake holder in the club).

References

1. "8th "Coca-Cola" National Football League 2003/04". IndianFootball.de. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
2. "India 2003 Regional Championships". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
3. "25th "TATA" Federation Cup 2003". IndianFootball.de. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
4. "7th Super Cup 2003/04". IndianFootball.de. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
5. "116th Durand Cup 2003". IndianFootball.de. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
6. "109th IFA Shield 2003". IndianFootball.de. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
7. ^ "Team Archives - East Bengal Club". East Bengal Club. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
8. "Asean Club Championship to launch after getting AFC and Fifa backing". SportBusiness. 6 November 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
9. "AFC Statement on the Asean Club Championship | Football News |". the-AFC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
10. "AFF to launch ASEAN Club Championship in 2020 featuring top clubs from Southeast Asia | FOX Sports Asia". Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
11. ^ "East Bengal's Greatest Hour: The 2003 ASEAN Cup Triumph". Sportskeeda. 27 July 2013. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
12. "Before BFC in 2016, there was East Bengal's ASEAN win in 2003". ESPN. November 2016. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
13. "15 Facts and Untold stories of Bhaichung Bhutia". Sports Libro. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
14. "East Bengal makes History". The Hindu. 27 July 2003. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

• East Bengal Club seasons