It was all the more amazing considering the fact that Brothers, who had been struggling for a number seasons and finished seventh in the ten-team elite League last year after going through an arduous relegation battle.

The top brass of Mohammedan, Abahani and Muktijoddha were powerless in preventing the new 'Band of Brothers' being unveiled on the opening day of transfer bourse in September.

A look at the team Brothers have assembled reads like a who's who of Bangladesh football. From Muktijoddha came national captain Rajani Kanta Barman, country's number two goalkeeper Biplab Bhattacharya, central defender Mohammad Sujon, mercurial midfielder Arman Mia and ace striker Alfaz Ahmed. Ababani lost defender Nazrul, Parvez Babu, midfielders Iqbal Hossain and Liton. And Mohammedan saw defender Firoz Mahmud Hossain Tito and midfielder Monwar Hossain both leave the popular Motijheel club.

No sooner had Brothers staged the coup then speculation grew that the plot was hatched with the full financial backing of Dhaka City Mayor Sadeq Hossain, who is has been associated with the club for a long time.

The manner in which the signings were brought to the Dhaka Mahanagari Football League Committee (DMFLC) office was also unique.

In a scene reminiscent of a team winning a major title, the players and officials arrived at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in a ceremonial parade of horse-driven carts.

Naturally all the talk in the sports arena was whether Brothers would mount a serious challenge against the big three in the Federation Cup. But to everybody's surprise it never happened as the glamour outfit of the mid-seventies and early eighties crashed out after a losing to Bangladesh Army at the nascent stage of the competition.

The sensational loss sparked off all kinds of theories. Some suggested that despite being regarded as the best team on paper, most of the Brothers players were either way past their prime or nearing the ends of their careers. Others said that senior members were yet to settle into the squad.

But according to Brothers Union manager Amer Khan it was lack of commitment that resulted in the team's first round Federation Cup exit.

"You don't need a coach for those eleven players because they have played a lot of football in the domestic and international arena. To me they didn't give their hundred per cent and that's why we failed in the Federation Cup," said a straight forward Amer who played for the club from 1991 to 2001 and then joined as manager last year.

The 32-year-old midfielder, however, expressed optimism about his side's Premier League chances, which they have never won.

"Brothers Union represents the inhabitants of Gopibagh. But so far we have failed to do justice to our steadfast supporters. Our only successes came in the 1980 and 1991 editions of the Federation Cup.

"That's why we have formed a strong team to capture the league crown and so give the fans something to cheer about," he said adding that former India coach Naimuddin is all set to take over from Abu Noman Nannu at the end of this month.

Acting coach Nannu said that the main problem was the absence of a genuine striker who could score goals.

"Alfaz is basically a midfielder who can provide the ball for others to score. The weakness in the frontline was responsible for our debacle in the Federation Cup.

"I'm happy that the club officials have realised that and imported some foreigners to fill the gap," said former Brothers central defender in the seventies and early eighties.

There are as many as four foreign players in the training camp now. However Nannu said that only Russian attacking midfielder David Edward has impressed him. The other foreign players are defender Francis and forward Okelo from Uganda and Brazilian midfielder Gomez.

Nannu also warned that local players would have to sit on the reserve bench if a few more quality foreigners are attracted to the club.

He hoped that his team would build momentum at the early stage because their first four games were against Arambagh, Muktijoddha, Abahani and Mohammedan.

BROTHERS UNION SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Biplab, Ali and Shamim.

Defenders: Rajani, Sujon, Nazrul, Parvez Babu, Tito, Francis, Jahangir, Liton Khan, Munna, Jashim and Montu.

Midfielders: Arman, Monwar, Liton, Iqbal, Gomez, Edward, Rikto and Abul.

Forwards: Alfaz (captain), Okelo, Topu and Tarique.

Coach: Abu Noman Nannu.

Manager: Amer Khan.