Cleiton Silva took off his shirt and fell to the ground, face up. He was soon submerged in a flood of emotions, as his teammates rushed in and fell over him one by one. He just did what the doctor ordered, handing back the lead to East Bengal in the Kalinga Super Cup final. There were still 12 more minutes to play in the extra times but they could sense that the dream was truly and remarkably taking shape in red and gold hue again.
Carles Cuadrat's bravehearts ended East Bengal's 12 years of hurt in stunning fashion at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, overcoming an early setback to get the better of hosts and defending champions Odisha FC 3-2 in 120 minutes of ping-pong football before laying their hands on the Super Cup. It was their first national trophy since winning the Federation Cup in 2012. It's also their return to Asian club football as Super Cup champions are guaranteed a place in the AFC Champions League-2 preliminary stage.
