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KOLKATA: Pointing to the entrance of the beautifully decorated East Bengal Club tent, a middle-aged man in a red shirt recalled to his teenage son how it was made of wood, and how a similar flow of crowds had gathered at the same spot 22 years ago. A lot has changed in Hooghly since that National Football League title in 2001, from the city changing its name from Calcutta to Kolkata to changing the political landscape in the state twice.Yet, something has changed as the story continues and moves from father to son, a love story for the team, a story of shared joy and despair. A story of a legacy, through all its vicissitudes. As thousands of red and gold faithful joined the likes of Anwar Ali, Prabhasukhan Gill and Anton Sjöberg in the club tent on Friday, hours after winning their first ISL title and ending a 22-year absence from the national league, Son, who wasn’t even born in 2001, said beautifully.““This club represents the story of father to son, son to grandson. It’s a legacy club. Thousands and thousands of people are breathing, sweating and living the life of East Bengal. That’s how much I love this club,” said team coach Oscar Brozen, the man behind the team’s ‘mission ISL’. By winning the ISL, East Bengal became the first Indian team to play Asian football in men’s and women’s categories in the same season.The new ISL champions will join the playoffs of the AFC Challenge League. It was at the same stage of Asian football 19 months ago that Brozon sided with Bhutan and successfully crossed the play-off barrier in the third tier of the Asian club competition. “Our winning mentality came from this tournament,” Bruzan told TOI.
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