East Bengal have roped in former Bengaluru FC winger Antonio Rodriguez Dovale on loan from Cypriot First Division club Nea Salamis for the ongoing I-League 2018-19 season.
Dovale comes in as a replacement of Syrian midfielder Mahmoud Al Amna who has been officially released by the club.
East Bengal confirmed the signing of Dovale and the release of Amna on Monday. Their official press release read,
“Quess East Bengal FC (QEBFC) announced that it has signed Spanish Attacking footballer Antonio Rodriguez Dovale for the current football season 2018-19. Antonio Rodriguez Dovale, popularly known as Toni Dovale, will be on loan to Quess East Bengal FC from his current club Nea Salaminas Famagusta FC, which is amongst the top clubs in the Cyprus First Tier League. Toni Dovale replaces Mahmoud Al Amna who has been released by Quess East Bengal FC on mutually agreed terms.”
The Spaniard had plied his trade at Indian Super League (ISL) side Bengaluru FC. He had appeared in 13 ISL matches for the Blues and provided four assists.
He scored a hat-trick in Bengaluru FC’s AFC Cup qualifying match against Maldivian side TC Sports Club. Dovale’s hat-trick helped Bengaluru secure a place in the AFC Cup 2018 group stages.
The Spanish attacker’s signing helps East Bengal finally fill their foreign player quota. Dovale becomes the club’s sixth foreigner after Borja Gomez, Johnny Acosta, Kassim Aidara, Enrique Esqueda and Jaime Santos Colado.
The Kolkata-based club is currently on the sixth position in the league table with nine points from six matches. They next face arch-rivals Mohun Bagan on December 16.
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