East Bengal have appointed former Bengaluru FC (BFC) coach Carles Cuadrat as their new head coach. The 54-year-old Spaniard will be on a two-year contract.

Cuadrat began his coaching stint in India as the assistant coach with BFC in 2016.

During his first spell in India between 2016 and 2018, BFC won the Federation Cup and the inaugural edition of the Super Cup. They also became the first Indian team to reach the AFC Cup final.

In 2018, he took over the reins as BFC’s head coach, guiding them to their maiden Indian Super League (ISL) title in the 2018-19 season. Under him, BFC became the first team in ISL 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), then 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.

BFC also registered their biggest-ever win under Cuadrat when they beat Paro FC 9-1 in the AFC Cup Qualifiers in February 2020.

A product of Barcelona’s La Masia, Cuadrat played for FC Barcelona youth teams as a defender between 1978 and 1988.

He was also part of the FC Barcelona team that won the U-19 Spanish Cup in 1986 and 1987.

After leaving India in the 2020-21 season, Cuadrat joined the Cypriot club Aris Limassol as an assistant coach. He was most recently working as an assistant coach at the Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.