I-League: East Bengal's impressive run

After five rounds of the 4th edition of the I-League 2010/11 only one team has been able to maintain a 100% record - Kolkata giants East Bengal Club. And the red-and-gold have been able to do so in style having not conceded a single goal so far though four of their five wins were 1-0 victories. With this the team continues their unbelievable form which got them the Federation Cup, the Platinum Jubilee Trophy of Mohammedan Sporting and the Calcutta Premier Division title.

East Bengal has been having a great season overall. The team has played 32 matches in all competitions - Calcutta Premier League, Federation Cup, Durand Cup, Platinum Jubilee Trophy of Mohammedan Sporting, Super Cup and I-League. And the team has been able to win 28 of those matches, has drawn one in the Calcutta Premier League and lost three games in all competitions. Surely an impressive track record.

So who have been the architects of this phenomenal season so far?

The biggest influence on the team and their performance has been new English coach Trevor Morgan. Many in Kolkata questioned if this foreign coach could turn East Bengal's fortunes around after the club had a few terrible seasons with numerous coaches trying their luck plus players coming and going, especially the choice of foreigners has to be questioned.

But the 54 year old Londoner has been able to do things which none of his predecessors could do at the club. Work calm and quitely, prepare his squad for the assignments ahead and blend experience with youth.

The other major thing has been the well put together squad. Unlike in earlier seasons were the club only went after names this year they have looked at the different positions and ensured that there are at least two players who can play in each position. This has given the squad much-needed depth and bench strength.

And then there are the players, especially the foreigners. Only defender Uga Okpara was retained and he is one of the teams star performers, while new one's in midfielder Penn Ikechukwu Orji and striker Tolgay Ozbey.

Starting with Sandip Nandy in goal, Okpara and the central defenders in Sunil Kumar and Gurwinder Singh, Penn along with Mehtab Hussain and Sanju Pradhan in midfield and then Tolgay with young Robin Singh in attack plus the other players; the team has been playing quality football with the right results. And at the moment they are a top title contender, but one would have to see what happens if they lose a few matches. And the way the team has settled even that might not rattle them too much.