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Emami East Bengal recently announced Cleiton Silva and Eliandro as their new foreign recruits. They will replace the Marcelo-Perosevic pair at the club.
Eliandro arrived at the club upon the recommendation of their new coach Stephen Constantine. Although Cleiton looks like an excellent addition to the EBFC squad, Eliandro looks somewhat like an average signing. Both fit perfectly well with Constantine's 3-5-2 system.
East Bengal FC is one of the most successful clubs on the Indian football circuit. They became the only club from India to win a competition on the Asian Football circuit when they triumphed in the prestigious ASEAN Football championship in 2003.
However, their performance in the ISL was not up to the mark. Last season, they finished in the last position on the table. For the past two years, they have suffered from a lack of quality strikers.
Aaron Amadi Holloway, Daniel Chukwu, and Marcelo Dos Santos failed to deliver for the red and gold brigade. Only time will tell whether the addition of Cleiton and Eliandro would sort out their problems.
Cleiton Silva and Eliandro both played for Suphanburi FC in Thai League
Cleiton Silva started his footballing career for Madureira RJ. He later made a move to Thailand, signing for Thai league club Osotspa. The following season he signed for popular Thai club BEC Tero Sasana.
Cleiton played 31 matches for them, scoring 20 goals. In 2013, he made a move to Mexico, signing for Queretaro FC. In 2014, he made a return to Thailand, signing for Muangthong United.
He was at his peak form during that time. Cleiton won the Thai League with them and became the top goalscorer for the club in the 2015-16 season. He spent several years on the Asian football circuit playing for Chinese club SH Shenxin and Thai clubs like Chiangrai United and Suphanburi FC.
In 2020, ISL side Bengaluru FC roped him in to replace Manu Onwu. He has played 37 matches in the ISL so far and has scored 16 goals.
Eliandro, on the other hand, started playing football for Brazilian club Cruzeiro. He later went on to play for other popular clubs in the same country like Sports Recife, American MG, ABC FC, Vila Nova AC, Ipatinga FC, and Cabofriense.
In 2012, he made a move to Europe, signing for the Portuguese club Nacional. He represented them on two occasions. Later, he played for Maltese Club Birkirkara FC and popular club of Lithuania FK Zalgiris.
In 2018, he moved to Thai Club Chiangmai FC. He continued his career in Thailand playing for clubs like Suphanburi FC, Chonburi FC, and Samut Prakan. He has played 70 matches in the Thai league, scoring 23 goals. He has won the Lithuanian Championship with Zalgiris and Maltese Cup with Birkirkara FC.
Questions remain over the fitness of Brazilian striking duo
Cleiton Silva mainly plays as a withdrawl forward while Eliandro plays as a perfect No 9. Stephen Constantine is known for playing with a 3-5-2 formation where both of them can fit in perfectly.
However, Eliandro last played in December 2021 and, as a result, he may suffer from serious fitness problems. He is also a bit slow and can be easily intercepted by defenders. Still, his physique and height of almost 180 cm makes him a good heading option during set pieces.
Cleiton Silva, on the other hand, is very much agile and covers a huge area on the field. He shifts his position constantly, which makes it difficult for the defenders to mark him.
He was a bit out of form last season and most of his goals came from set pieces and penalties. His age of 35 could be a reason to worry the East Bengal recruiters.
Eliandro and Cleiton Silva can succeed as a pair if the club can arrange for a good attacking midfielder who can supply the ball to the duo. However, the club is on the right track in terms of foreign hiring.
They have taken the right decision by hiring two experienced strikers from the Asian football circuit who can adapt faster to Indian conditions.
