India, May 21 -- In a setting so intimate that the fans could feel the players breathe, Mohamad Rashid climbed the railing to be with them after scoring the goal that ended 22 years of hurt for East Bengal. The first league title in a generation, the one that silenced the jeers this proud 105-year-old club had had to suffer, deserved nothing less. Thursday's 2-1 win meant the time for commiserations is over. Let the celebrations begin.

And it did with fans pouring on to the pitch at Kishore Bharati Krirangan -- a stadium tucked inside a south Kolkata neighbourhood and surrounded by buildings on all sides whose roofs and balconies held those who couldn't find seats on the stands.

The flares, mothballed since 2003-04 when East Bengal won ...