East Bengal’s losing streak has returned! The supporters are eagerly awaiting the comeback and rather frustrated about the Indian Super League results. In this turmoil the East Bengal FC’s former legendary player and an immersive supporter has opened up about the perspective of this downfall and about the gradual resurgence of the team’s glory.

The Brazilian footballer and former East Bengal ace Douglas Silva talked exclusively on Parallel Sports about the strategic misgivings that are affecting the East Bengal play, the recruitment process and his perception of the EBFC administration, and lastly, his take on the AFC Challenge League.

When asked about the inconsistency of the foreign players in the ISL season, the midfield stated, “East Bengal is one of the biggest clubs in India. When players are playing rigorous football, you are always prone to injury. But what happens this season for East Bengal is that the players are often getting muscle spasms and knee injuries due to their lack of physical fitness!”

“Like all the clubs around the world, they should have a technical director who knows the team, the sports and communicates well with the coaching staff. The players are not fit; they are constantly changing positions, and so they can’t perform up to their full potential. The pattern continues for the foreign players as well. They are lacking the physical training to keep up with the East Bengal standards, and when they are not up to the mark, the whole team suffers. The few hours of short sprints and passes were not enough. The pre-season was not good; the club, like EBFC, should have a pre-season planning for at least 30 days."

The former East Bengal legend further adds about the new coach Oscar Bruzon, stating, “When Bruzon came, he understood this fatigued stage and worked on it. Which resulted in a few wins, but it was already very late. He couldn’t do much this season.”

In recent times there were many public outrages that occurred after East Bengal’s recent loss. Many fans have raised questions about the recruiting process. While talking about this process, Silva stated, “About the selection of the players, we don’t know how the players are getting selected! Talking about the foreigners, every team has almost 6-7 foreign players on the team. And for East Bengal, only 2-3 of them are playing ISL-level football. Indeed, they are good players, but they play league-level football, not ISL-level.”

The die-heart East Bengal devotee has raised questions about the East Bengal administration; he stated, “People are blaming Nitu Da (Debabrata Sarkar) for this evident disaster of the team, but he is not the one to blame for it. For this administration, duties Nitu da has trusted people who shouldn’t be trusted. As of now, EBFC needs more professional people in the administration besides Nitu Da. He has the biggest vision for the club; he is a visionary himself. But he is putting his trust in the wrong people. We don’t ask about the process of recruitment but are putting the blame on them.”

While talking about the recruitment strategy of the players, he stated, “The process we should look into and change is the proliferation of the football agents. They decide the players they talk to the top authority of the club for the players. However, when a club is recruiting a player, it is needed for the coaches and technical directors to sit with them. They should put a mind to the players' games and assess if the player fits right with the team or not. The technical directors and assistant coaches should put rigorous effort into it. Otherwise, even with the best players on the team, it wouldn’t work out.”

While giving his perspective and valued insight for the recruitment process, he claimed, “East Bengal should develop a structured approach to planning each season. This should include assessing players' performances, analysing their profiles, setting clear objectives, and strategically selecting more versatile players to strengthen the squad.”

The AFC Challenge League’s next away match of East Bengal against FK Arkadag is scheduled for 12th March. While reflecting on the match, he stated, “East Bengal can absolutely win the match. But a more strategic approach towards the game is very much important to win. “ In the last matches we have seen the way they played beautiful football till 50-60 minutes, but after that they conceded goals. EBFC is highly dependent on the strikers, but we need more players who can help the strikers, wingers and others.”

While reflecting on Cleiton Silva, he stated, “He can do this work. Cleiton is a versatile player. But in the last match, the coach decided to play Cleiton; it was already too late. Cleiton came out of the box; no one was there on his side. It was a grave mistake; the coach should go for the game reading. The coach should go for the short passes; only the long passes can't help them in the game. Strategic aggression can only help the players and the team right now.”

And lastly, 50-year-old former player stated, “East Bengal should stop mourning about the ISL season loss now and focus more on retribution in the upcoming AFC Challenge League Cup.”

A former player, who has grown to cherish the team as more than just a former athlete, has voiced his desire to rebuild the club he holds dear. Beyond his playing days, he remains a steadfast supporter and well-wisher of EBFC, and the team's recent downturn has affected him as deeply as it has touched the hearts of thousands of other devoted fans.