‘This is no ordinary Indian club,’ says Oscar Bruzon after ISL title kicks off Red and Gold Carnival

Absolute scenes of joy and cheer engulfed the camp in East Bengal as hundreds of supporters flooded the club premises, swaddling each other in the club’s iconic red and gold colors to celebrate the arrival of the Indian Super League title.

The celebrations seemed to continue uninterrupted from the final whistle of East Bengal’s final league match against Inter Kashi FC on Thursday evening at the Kishore Bharati Stadium, where the Red and Gold Brigade finally returned as champions of the country’s top league after a wait of 22 long years.

The last time East Bengal supporters celebrated a triumph of comparable magnitude was when the club won back-to-back National Football League titles in 2003 and 2004.

Oscar Bruzon emerged as the architect of this historic achievement, assembling a side capable of achieving this feat in an era largely dominated by arch-rival Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

READ ALSO | Red-and-Gold reborn: How East Bengal became ISL champions under coach Oscar Bruzon

“This is not an ordinary Indian club that simply brings together 500 or 1,000 people for chants and songs,” Bruzon said.

«East Bengal is a legacy passed down from father to son and from son to grandson. It is a community club where thousands of people live and breathe every day. That emotional bond has a profound impact on the way we work, how hungry we are and how committed we remain,» he added.

Comparisons with Arsenal FC’s long-awaited victory in the English Premier League inevitably arose during the celebrations. «Our triumph is similar to what Arsenal achieved in the Premier League after so long a wait,» said Debabrata Sarkar, one of the key figures in the East Bengal government.

The triumph saw East Bengal FC become the first club in the country to qualify for continental competitions next season – in both the men’s and women’s categories – with the latter recently clinching the Indian Women’s League title and completing a historic double for the Kolkata giants.

Published on May 22, 2026