Who is Oscar Bruzon? East Bengal's new head coach

Following a difficult start to the 2024–25 Indian Super League (ISL) season, East Bengal FC has hired Spanish coach Oscar Bruzon as their new head coach. Bruzon has been brought in to help the Red & Gold Brigade, who are at the bottom of the table after four straight losses, in order to help them overcome their bad start.

Bruzon will replace Carles Cuadrat, who spent just over a season in charge of the club. Since Bruzon has been coaching football for more than 15 years and has been involved with the game for more than 30 years, the Red & Gold Brigade are fortunate to have a wealth of coaching experience.

The 47-year-old had spent many years playing professionally in Spain, including for the reserve squad of Celta Vigo. Bruzon will have to resolve the squad's persistent problems and improve East Bengal's performance moving forward, which includes playing a more appealing brand of football.

The Spaniard has worked in Indian football in the past and has significant experience winning domestic championships. 

Let’s look at the career of Oscar Bruzon and what can be expected of him as East Bengal’s head coach.

Who is Oscar Bruzon?

The 47-year-old football manager Oscar Bruzon has been appointed East Bengal's head coach until the conclusion of the 2024–25 ISL season. If he can help the team reach the ISL knockout stages, win a trophy, and play to their best abilities, his contract might be extended.

Bruzon began his coaching career at 30 when he took over the youth team set-up of Spanish side Areosa. Having previously served as a youth coach for Celta Vigo, he has extensive knowledge of how to assist young players in developing appropriately and integrating into his first-team lineup. 

Fortunately for the Kolkata team, Bruzon is also well-versed in Indian and Asian football. In addition to serving as head coach of Sporting Clube de Goa and Mumbai FC, he was an assistant coach for Mumbai City FC during the 2015–16 campaign. He even worked as an assistant coach for Spanish side Mallorca under Fernando Vazquez in the 2016-17 season.

Work Experience

Bruzon was a youth academy coach in Spain for the first five years of his coaching career. But in 2012, he was hired by Sporting Clube de Goa after putting in some outstanding work as the youth coach for Celta Vigo. The Spaniard helped his team defeat teams like Dempo and Churchill Brothers to win the 2012–13 Goa Professional League title in his first season as manager.

He got his team to win nine of their 13 matches, only losing on one occasion and scoring 33 goals. Under him, Sporting Goa finished in fifth place in the 2012-13 I-League campaign. Although Bruzon's tenure as manager of Mumbai FC wasn't particularly noteworthy, he began to make an impression after departing India.

In the 2017–18 season, he had an exceptional one-season tenure as head coach of New Radiant FC. Bruzon helped them win the Dhivehi Premier League, Maldives FA Cup, and President’s Cup in his first season as well as the Charity Shield. New Radiant won 13 of 14 matches, only losing once, and scored 44 goals.

In 2018, Bruzon left New Radiant to become head coach of the Bashundhara Kings. Under his leadership, the Bangladeshi heavyweights won four titles in the Bangladesh Premier League, including three consecutive ones from 2021–2023. He would have four unforgettable years with the team. Additionally, they took home two Federation Cup titles and one Independence Cup.

The Spaniard also has quite a history of facing Mohun Bagan. His team, Bashundhara Kings defeated the Mariners at home last season and held them to a draw in the AFC Cup last season. They also ended joint in points in the 2022-23 AFC Cup group stages, with the Mariners prevailing thanks to their superior goals.

Bruzon’s Philosophy

While some East Bengal fans might’ve been underwhelmed by Carles Cuadrat’s defense-first approach at times, Bruzon is unlikely to do the same. The Spaniard is very much someone who loves watching exciting attacking football and tries to instill that same mindset within everyone else in the club he’s working with.

Bruzon was able to demonstrate that perfectly during his six years as the head of the Bashundhara Kings. In addition to winning four league titles, the Bangladeshi team enthralled supporters with their daring attacking approach. When the Spaniard was in charge, Bashundhara Kings won 120 of 151 games and lost only 15 of them. Under his leadership, they averaged almost three goals per game, displaying how much Bruzon enjoyed pushing his team forward to generate an increasing number of scoring opportunities.

The 47-year-old mostly likes to line up his side using the 4-3-3 system, where the midfield trio comprises one deep-lying midfielder operating in a number six role and two energetic number eight options who are encouraged to wander forward to pressure the opposition backline. In order to open up in more goal-scoring positions, he also prefers his wingers to be inverted and drift more into central areas. The full-backs are then urged to overload the wide areas with overlapping runs.

If necessary, Bruzon also likes to play a 3-4-3 formation. The three-center-back system naturally adds a bit of defensive sturdiness to his team. The wing-backs and the three forwards can run riot in the front line because the midfielders in this system primarily control a deeper area.

Bashundhara's heroics against the Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the AFC Cup last season exemplified the fearlessness of Bruzon's teams. Even at Salt Lake Stadium, they dominated the Mariners in both games, torturing them with quick breaks and winning crucial duels to prevent the Kolkata heavyweights from playing their natural style. Bruzon has what it takes to defeat Mohun Bagan on important occasions, as evidenced by the fact that his team defeated the Mariners and even earned a point from the trip to Salt Lake Stadium.

When Bruzon takes over the team, East Bengal supporters will be hoping he can flawlessly integrate his vision and style. East Bengal might develop into a formidable team to play against in the ISL if the players give the coach their best effort and if he is given enough time to make an impression. 

Cover Credits - Goal.com