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ISL outfit SC East Bengal announced the appointment of former Chelsea goalkeeping coach Leslie Cleevely earlier today (September 26). Cleevely joins the club as a goalkeeping coach and will work alongside head coach Manuel 'Manolo' Diaz.
The 56-year-old has plenty of experience as a player and coach. During his playing days, Cleevely's most prolific spell came at Southampton as a backup goalkeeper, while he also turned out for Crystal Palace and Notts County. However, much of his playing career was spent at non-league English clubs such as Farnborough Town, Carshalton Athletic and Sutton United.
Cleevely's coaching experience is much more impressive and consists largely of spells with multiple top English teams. The list includes the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Fulham. Cleevely worked with the great Edwin van der Sar at Fulham and coached the likes of Petr Cech, Hilario and Carlo Cudicini during his four-year spell with Chelsea.
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His most recent coaching stint was with the Bangladesh men's team, where he held the goalkeeping coach position for around a year. Cleevely now joins SC East Bengal hoping to help the likes of Arindam Bhattacharya, Sankar Roy and Suvam Sen improve between the sticks.
"SC East Bengal is a massive football club and I am proud to be part of that" - Leslie Cleevely
Upon joining the club, Cleevely acknowledged the passion displayed by football fans in Asia. Speaking to the club's website, this is what he had to say:
“I have experience of working in this part of the world. Being part of the Bangladesh national team setup where fans are also very passionate about their football, I understand the sentiment well. SC East Bengal is a massive football club and I am proud to be part of that.”
Cleevely also added that he has already researched the club's goalkeepers and hopes to help them reach new heights. He explained:
“I have done my homework on the goalkeepers we have and I will do what needs to be done to bring the best out of them. All three goalkeepers are experienced and I am sure they will come out with flying colours.”
The 56-year-old, who has more than 20 years of experience in the coaching arena, is a massive addition to SC East Bengal's coaching staff for the season. The club and their fans will hope Cleevely's addition can help the Red and Gold Brigade improve on their ninth-place finish from the 2020-21 ISL season.
