Kingfisher East Bengal FC, has brought a number of glorious moments for Indian football fans to treasure and cherish. This magnificent trend of performing well against foreign clubs started way back in 1948, when the club defeated Chinese Olympic XI 2-0 in a friendly match, which also marks East Bengal’s first ever exposure to the international level. The Chinese Olympic XI was not an ordinary side; it was a pretty strong team consisting of the best available talents in China, who represented the country in 1948 London Olympics.
1. East Bengal 1-0 PAS Club, Iran – IFA Shield, 1970
It was a historic moment for Indian football. This Red-&-Gold victory is the first ever victory by an Indian club against a foreign side in a competitive match, since independence :
2. East Bengal 3-1 Leventis United, Nigeria – IFA Shield, 1986
The then Nigerian Premier League and FA Cup Champions and 1985 African Cup Winners Cup runner-up, Leventis United, a club based in Ibadan City in the state of Oyo, was one of the strongest club sides in the African continent during those days.: 3. East Bengal 6-2 Al-Zawra’a SC, Iraq – Asian Cup Winners Cup, 1993-94
Asian Cup Winners Cup, currently known as AFC Club Cup, was a tournament in which all the domestic league champions from AFC affiliated countries used to participate. From India, East Bengal participated in this prestigious tournament for a record 10 times. In the 1993-94 edition of the tournament, East Bengal was grouped with Iraq National Leaguechampions Al-Zawra’a SC.: 4. East Bengal 1-0 Verdy Kawasaki, Japan – Asian Cup Winners Cup, 1997-98
In the 1997-98 Asian Cup Winners Cup, East Bengal hammered Tribhuvan Club, Nepal 8-0 in the home leg before thrashing them 3-0 at their own backyards to set up a second round clash against one of the strongest teams in Asia – Japan’s Verdy Kawasaki – currently re-branded as Tokyo Verdy. Verdy Kawasaki had won the inaugural edition of Japan’s J-League in 1993 and repeated the same feat in the following year. They also finished runner-up in 1995 edition of J-League : 5. East Bengal 3-1 BEC Tero Sasana FC, Thailand – LG ASEAN Cup Final, 2003
East Bengal clinched the 2002-03 edition of Indian National Football League, which earned them an opportunity to participate in 2003 ASEAN Club Championship, held in Jakarta, Indonesia. The top-12 clubs from South East Asia took part in this prestigious competition and they were clubbed into four groups. East Bengal qualified for the quarter final stage from Group D to face the local favorites Parsita Tangerang of Indonesia. Riding on a goal each from Baichung Bhutia and Bijen Singh, East Bengal defeated Parsita 2-1 to set up a semi final clash against the 2002 Indonesian Premier Division League Champions, Petrokimia Putra
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