Spaniard Carles Cuadrat appointed head coach of East Bengal

KOLKATA: Former Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat has been roped in by East Bengal as its new head coach on a two-year contract.

Cuadrat, 54, began his coaching stint in India as the assistant coach with the Bengaluru FC (BFC) in 2016. During his first spell in India between 2016 and 2018, BFC won the erstwhile Federation Cup followed by the inaugural edition of the Super Cup and became the first Indian team to reach the AFC Cup final. In 2018, the Spaniard took over the reins as BFC’s head coach, guiding it to its maiden Indian Super League (ISL) title in the 2018-19 season. Under his stewardship, BFC became the first team in ISL history to top the league and win the trophy in the same year. The following season, Cuadrat led the Blues to the playoffs again. Under Cuadrat, BFC set many club records. In the 2018-19 season, the Blues had an 11-match unbeaten run (including six consecutive wins), previously a record for the longest unbeaten streak in the ISL. His tenure as BFC’s head coach also coincided with the club’s 17-match unbeaten streak at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, the longest such run recorded by an ISL Club at home.