On the other side of the ground near the Brothers bench, one gentleman slowly made his way towards the source of celebration, his balanced steps interrupted only by a hug from manager Amer Khan. This was a significant moment because Khan was expressing gratitude to the man who has got the Midas touch, coach Syed Naimuddin.

Brothers Union, the pride of Gopibagh, had won almost nothing in their three decades of top level participation until the arrival of Naimuddin. The veteran Indian, who has seen it all with that country's national football side as well as illustrious clubs of Kolkata was the final cog in Brothers' revolution to reach the summit of domestic football.

Yesterday they added the National Football League (NFL) crown to an unprecedented first championship title in the Dhaka Premier League won earlier this season, both under the guidance of Naimuddin. It was easy to forget that Brothers were making their maiden NFL appearance having failed to qualify in the previous three editions.

The coach too was taken over by the momentous occasion amidst embraces and handshakes from familiar faces and totally unknown people expressing gratitude although his calm demeanor never showed it.

"This is definitely the greatest honour for me at club level. I have seen success with the Indian national team (SAF Football title in 1997) but apart from that, leading Brothers to this double is my biggest career achievement," said Naimuddin.

So is the luxury of possessing a squad that can be interpreted as a virtual who's who of local football, the recipe for his success? Naimuddin does not feel that way at all.

"What you saw today was a united Brothers Union. We lost our number one goalie (Biplab Bhattacharya) after only two minutes but this team doesn't miss anyone. The players who are on the field at any given moment are my best eleven. This is our strength," said Naimuddin.

"We kept fighting all the way. We missed chances but in the end it was sheer grace of God that we won although it would've been better to win in normal time," he added.

Brothers captain Alfaz Ahmed, no stranger to laurels, said it was the best final for him. The ace forward completed a unique hattrick of NFL titles having won it with Muktijoddha last season and Mohammedan in 2002.

"I have won trophies before but this one is most satisfying because I was the captain. I attribute our victory to team work and confidence in our abilities.

'We were the best team and we wanted to prove that we did not need foreign recruits for success," said Alfaz.

Arman Miah, the mercurial playmaker was particularly delighted on receiving the man of the tournament award which incidentally was the second time he has been recognised at the competition's best player.

"I was man of the tournament in the second edition of the NFL in 2002 when I was with Abahani. But there was always a sense of dissatisfaction inside me as we were only the runners-up that time. Now I no longer have any regrets," said Arman.

The battling Muktijoddha team, which had adopted a workmanlike approach compromising flair for substance throughout the competition, was understandably disappointed with the result. But captain Matiur Rahman Munna was critical of the refereeing in the final.

"The referee upheld their every call. The red card against Saiful could have been avoided too. Besides, some of our attacking play was abruptly interrupted with unnecessary whistling," claimed the Bangladesh international midfielder.