Margao, Jun 2 (IANS): Salgaocar coach Karim Bencherifa said winning the I-League football title with a bunch of young guys was the "sweetest" achievement of his career.

Under the Moroccan, Salgaocar won the national league after a gap of 12 years.

"I won many trophies, whether with Churchill brothers or Mohun Bagan, but the I-League triumph is the sweetest as it comes after a long hard season. This triumph means a lot to me, my players, staff and management. I would also like to dedicate this triumph to the Salgaocar fans. They were really behind us, especially at home and that helped us a lot," said Bencherifa.

Having coached Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan in the past, the I-League title was Bencherifa's first.

"This is my first I-League title in India in five years. Previously, I missed out on the national championship twice with my former clubs Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan," he said.

"Nobody accounted us to be champion material at the start of the I-League. But we performed consistently well, drew the best crowd and came up with some memorable performances," he said.

"The title was slipping out of our hands until we beat Churchill Brothers and later beat East Bengal after being down by two goals. I must thank our fans who believed in us and that is the fitting reward for their faith in us," he said.