IMPHAL: East Bengal are leaving no stone unturned to win the elusive I-League title this time. They take on last season's runners-up NEROCA FC in their opening game at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium here on Saturday.East Bengal had faced NEROCA on the last day of last season's I-League. The match in Kolkata ended 1-1 as the red and gold brigade finished fourth. The match in Imphal had ended on the same score. Since then a lot of things have changed for East Bengal. They have bagged a new sponsorship deal, brought in a new Spanish coach in Alejandro Menendez Garcia, and a host of new foreign players, including World Cupper Johnny Acosta from Costa Rica.To make sure the players have no trouble getting acclimatized to the conditions, the team reached the Manipur capital on Wednesday, and had two closed-door practice sessions at the NEROCA FC practice ground on Thursday and Friday.All is not rosy at East Bengal though. After they lost the Calcutta league title race to arch-rivals Mohun Bagan, they were handed a transfer ban by the AIFF in September over irregularities in their attempts to sign Sukhdev Singh from Minerva Punjab.

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