East Bengal’s historic ISL win: After a long wait of 22 years, it’s an explosion of red and gold

Spectators during the Indian Super League (ISL) 2026 football match between East Bengal vs Inter Kashi (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra) KOLKATA: A middle-aged man, donning a red shirt, pointed to the entrance gate of East Bengal’s ornately decorated club marquee and nostalgically narrated to his teenage son how it was made of wood and how a similar stream of crowds converged on the same spot 22 years ago. From the city changing its name from Calcutta to Calcutta to the political landscape changing colors twice in the state, Hooghly has seen a lot of water since the 2001 National Football League title.But something remains unchanged as the story continues and passes from father to son, a story of love for a team, a story of shared joy and despair. A story of legacy, through all its ups and downs. As thousands of the red and gold faithful joined the likes of Anwar Ali, Prabhsukhan Gill and Anton Sojberg in the club’s marquee on Friday, just hours after winning their first ISL title and ending a 22-year ordeal of missing out on the domestic league, the son, who was not yet born in 2001, said: “Yes, it’s beautiful.”“This club represents the story of father to son, son to grandson. This is an old club. Thousands and thousands of people breathe, sweat and live life in East Bengal. How I love this club,” said team coach Oscar Bruzon, the man behind the team’s ‘Mission ISL’. By winning the ISL, East Bengal became the first Indian team to play in Asian football in both men’s and women’s categories in a single season.The new ISL champions will feature in the AFC Challenge League playoffs. It was at the same stage of Asian football 19 months ago that Bruzon joined the Bhutan side and successfully cleared the play-off hurdle in the third tier of the Asian club competition. “Our winning mentality came from that tournament,” Bruzon told TOI.