ISL Transfers: Dimitrios Diamantakos joins East Bengal FC

East Bengal FC has roped in Indian Super League 2023-24 Golden Boot winner Dimitrios Diamantakos on a two-year contract, the club announced on Friday. Diamantakos scored 13 goals for Kerala Blasters FC in last season’s ISL.

Welcoming the prolific Greek striker to the Emami East Bengal family, Mr Vibhash Vardhan Agarwal of Emami Group said, “Emami Group is committed to building a formidable East Bengal team that can make our fans and the country proud at the Asian level. Diamantakos is a proven match-winner and we are delighted to welcome the ISL Golden Boot winner to our family.”

Emami East Bengal FC Head Coach Carles Cuadrat said, “Diamantakos’ adaptation to India and the ISL has been remarkable and his inclusion will massively bolster our attack. We had a fruitful conversation with him, which convinced him to join us. He had offers from various clubs, but he believed in our project and chose to join Emami East Bengal.”

At the international level, Diamantakos has represented Greece’s senior national team and was part of the Greek squad that finished runners-up in the 2012 UEFA European U-19 Championship.

Since joining Kerala Blasters in 2022, Diamantakos has so far played 44 matches on Indian soil, registering 28 goals and 7 assists across two seasons. The 31-year-old recorded the joint- second highest goal contributions in Indian football last season (20 in 20 games). Besides scoring 13 goals and providing 3 assists en route to winning the ISL Golden Boot, Diamantakos also registered 3 goals and 1 assist in three Kalinga Super Cup games. In the 2022-23 ISL he earned the distinction of scoring in five consecutive matches.

Having risen through the youth ranks at Atromitos Piraeus and Olympiacos, Diamantakos represented several Greek sides during his formative professional years, including Panionios Athens, Aris Thessaloniki, Ergotelis FC and Olympiacos in two stints. Later, between 2015 and 2020, he had a five-year-long spell in Germany which saw him play for Karlsruher SC, VfL Bochum and FC St. Pauli, before joining Croatia’s Hajduk Split (2020-22) and Israel’s FC Ashdod (on loan – 2022) in the subsequent years.

Excited to join the Red & Gold brigade, Diamantakos said, “Everyone knows that East Bengal has one of the greatest fan bases in Asia. I can’t wait to play in front of them. I will do my best to help my team achieve our goals and bring joy to our supporters. See you in Kolkata!”

The player registration is subject to completion of regulatory processes.