Carles Cuadrat Exclusive: 'Preparing for Next Season' - East Bengal coach on Blueprint for Success, The Progress and the Road Ahead

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Carles Cuadrat is already in work mode amid his vacation in Spain. The Emami East Bengal coach has been chalking out his plans for the upcoming season and wants to build on the success with the Kolkata giants.

East Bengal ended their trophy drought this season by winning the Kalinga Super Cup. The Kolkata club had their best outing in the league and also managed to register multiple ISL records with the Spaniard at the helm.

Backed by the strategic mastermind of Carles Cuadrat and his staff, the Red and Gold Brigade came close to the ISL playoffs. Although the bridge was just out of reach, but Cuadrat has started to shape things up for the next season already.

It has been an eventful last ten months for the club. They reached the final of the Durand Cup, registered their best-ever points tally in ISL, and the triumphant Kalinga Super Cup campaign means they will be playing AFC competition next season.

In an Exclusive interview with MyKhel, Carles Cuadrat opens up about the plans and visions for the upcoming season. As we caught up with him in Spain, the East Bengal manager depicted that the plan for the next season has already started.

"A lot of work preparing for the next season [laughs]. I think it was a very important season because it was a kind of rebirth. Finally, there was a decision to try to build something with the first team, but also with the other teams in the club, like the women's team, the B team, like the U17, U13. I'm very happy to see that we are getting the things."

Kalinga Super Cup Win was very Important: Cuadrat

East Bengal's youngsters are doing wonders as they are in the Final of the RFDL competition in Mumbai. And it has been a holistic improvement of schemes at the club in the last year or so, and Cuadrat has been at the forefront of that renaissance.

The Spanish manager agrees that they are still not at the level of Mohun Bagan or Mumbai City, but taking the right steps at the right direction. And he again pinpoints the importance of winning the Kalinga Super Cup, not just because it ended the trophy drought, but it opened avenues for the club to improve after tasting the success.

"It was very important to get a trophy [Kalinga Super Cup]. It creates something now to increase our performance, to increase our budget, to create a better squad and to be more competitive."

"Mohun Bagan and Mumbai have been the ones with bigger budgets and won the Shield and the ISL Cup. We cannot be at that level in one year, but step by step we are building something. And for us, it's very important to be in the Asian competition next season. So it means that we are increasing the value of our squad," Cuadrat says.

We want to bring First-Team Players: Cuadrat

East Bengal's improvement has been evident. The club brought in some decent players last season. The signings such as Nandha Kumar, Hijazi Maher have paid dividends for them and Cuadrat admits that their solitary aim is to bring first-team players to bolster the squad.

"If we spend money, we want to spend money for the players straight to the lineup because we have a good academy system that can give us players to help us like it has been happening with Vishnu, Sayan, Aman and more. So this is the plan."

Cuadrat also says the importance of an inclusive ecosystem in the club which facilitates holistic development. Apart from the on-field structure, there is a massive importance to building the off-field system, and Cuadrat is impressed by club's improvement on that. The Emami East Bengal manager is elated with the facilities they have now and hails the way even their B team is having those perks.

"We have a good medical system. We have a good rehab program. We have a good scouting management. We have a good video analyst department helping us to study the opponents and to prepare the game. So it's not about that. It's about from here now to grow as a big competitive team," Cuadrat stresses.

"I think that East Bengal has a solid stance and we are building from the solidity. You know, step by step. And I am very positive about the future of the club," Cuadrat confirms, saying that the club doesn't want to rise for a couple of seasons, rather want to remain on top in the long run.

The Youth Development, a Chapter of La Masia

The past season has seen the emergence of many youngsters in East Bengal. The likes of PV Vishnu, Sayan Banerjee have created a strong base for themselves in the first team. Many other budding talents like Shyamal Besra, Mahitosh are on the rise and can become a big component of the first team next season. And Cuadrat, honing his Barcelona roots, is always ready to identify and promote the young talents.

"I am very supportive with the youngsters because I come from Barcelona roots. La Masia is now with Lamine, Pedri, Gabi - a lot of big names for the future. So when you see the talent, you have to support the talent. It's very clear to me. For me, you have to invest in the players who are going to be the next good generation of players. It makes no sense to spend one crore on those kinds of players who are on the bench and playing for 5-10 minutes. So this is the message and Emami East Bengal agree with me that we have to invest money in players to make an impact in the lineup."

Over the past few years, the East Bengal fans endured a lot of pain. All they wanted was the team to fight, and they have got that last season. Although the pathway to success is a long-term process, East Bengal has already tasted that in the Kalinga Super Cup, and they have fulfilled some objectives in the ISL. Now the time beckons for the upcoming season, and Cuadrat with the steering is the best man to propel them in the right direction.