THURSDAY, MAY 09, 2024
ALLAN D’CRUZ
It has been 10 years since Goa last won a national title. Then, skipper Dawson Fernandes, latched on to a failed clearance from a Haryana defender, before slamming the ball at the back of the net, from outside the 18-yard box, to lift the Dutta Ray Trophy, which was the last AIFF tournament played by the U-21s.
“The memories of winning the Championship are still fresh for all the players. We had exceptional talent in our squad with some going on to make it big,” recollects Fernandes, the winning captain.
The team had received a heroes’ welcome on their return. Who would have thought on that day this would be the last time the State celebrated winning silverware at the National level?
After enjoying a successful decade in the top-flight football and attaining various national feats and dominating the National league, the tides have sadly shifted.
Goa, who was once regarded as the nation’s powerhouse with a stunning pool of talent in football, is now lagging behind at the national platform.
In recent years, the standards of football have gradually but notably slipped to a point where Goa has reached, what is arguably its lowest point
We may have just celebrated the news about Goans forming a football club in England and playing in their ninth tier league, but technically this is an alarming concern for Goan football.
Stars at their prime
Goa had claimed the U-21 title six times, wherein plenty of stars have been produced over the years in these teams. We have seen the likes of Adil Khan, Augustino Fernandes, Fulganco Cardozo, Laxmikant Kattimani, Gabriel Fernandes, Tyson Caiado, Cavin Lobo, Lenny Rodrigues, Rowilson Rodrigues, Beevan D’Mello, Milagres Gonsalves, who have won the titles earlier between 2007 and 2008.
However, not everyone continued playing the game as many left seeking greener pastures. Though we have Joyner Lourenco for Jamshedpur FC and Jovel Martins for Churchill Brothers from the 2010 batch playing at the top level; some have quit football, while few have migrated to Europe including the skipper whereas others are playing in local leagues.
“But it’s sad that most of the players from that team have ended their football careers due to various reasons with some of them here in the United Kingdom,” added Dawson, who also migrated to England and is currently playing for the newly-formed club Goan United FC.
Dawson represented India thrice and even won silver at the SAFF Championship in 2013. However, his career was shortened due to multiple injuries. The current Goan United FC lad played for Bardez FC in Goa Professional League 2018-19 season, when he came home for vacation.
Low salaries/ short term contracts after the Goan clubs left I-League
It was not so long ago that Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC, Churchill Brothers FC, Sporting Clube de Goa and Vasco SC were a force to reckon with. But like empires; so is with the teams, and with a combination of tragedy, financial plummet, conflicts among football bodies in the State and cultural shifts -this crossroad has brought about a slump in Goan football and has led to blip and swap in fortunes.
Since the turn of the decade, the State has been entertaining tussles at the Club level, nationals and a couple of AFC Cup clashes. Soon after, the very-visible slide began.
With the lack of national competitions, the clubs have slashed their budgets.
“I feel that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has finished Goan Football, especially the budding players as clubs had to play in the Goa League and as such drastically reduced their respective budgets. I, however, appreciate the efforts of SCG patron who despite withdrawing the team from the I-League honoured the contracts of the players,” he concluded.
Joshuah Vaz, the Datta Ray 2010 winning squad member stressed that the State elite league has to be played for a longer duration.
“The State elite league is now barely played for six months and some of the lower teams besides the big guns, offer contracts for a minimal period. Some, even for six months. If the player is offered a contract for just six months, there is hardly any scope for the players in terms of commitment and earning for themselves,” Joshuah Vaz added.
Are Goan players undervalued?
“Actually, I feel Goan players are underpaid. Goan coaches have the wrong notion about the home grown talent. They value players from other States more than us,” said, Vaz, who is now playing in the first division league, having earlier played for Churchill Brothers in the I-League.
On Herald’s research, Goa Professional League players’ salaries range in between Rs 6,000 to Rs 30,000.
“Coaches feel that we are only bothered about materialistic needs but money is what we all need to sustain and 20-30k a month isn’t sufficient to take care of our fitness and family. I think this is one of the major reasons why many youngsters quit football and opt to migrate abroad,” he expressed, Joshuah, who is also a certified Futsal instructor.
Talent migrating to Europe
If you simply check the various clubs databases, many probable future stars have left the country for better prospects over the years. Couple of years ago, Panjim Footballers’ striker Snedden Rodrigues excelled in the Goa Professional League. His brilliance in the league caught the eyes of many top clubs including Dempo SC and FC Goa. However, the young player disappeared from the Goan football circuit and was learnt to be in England, which resulted in Goa losing another talent.
“The salary was less. Though I had offers from clubs including Dempo SC, I knew even their budget was less. The players aren’t paid well in the Goa Professional League and even in the I-League. I have moved to England now and I am working as well playing for Goan United FC here,” Snedden explained.
The emergence of Indian Super League (ISL) has thrown a new challenge as we have only one representative – FC Goa playing top flight football while Churchill Brothers FC are plying their trade in the I-League.
With just two clubs at the helm, the demand for the local players has decreased over time.
Alex Alvares, the coach of the last Datta Ray winning team was of the opinion that the team’s low budget forced the players to take other steps.
“Most of the players have gone overseas as they believed there was no future in football due to the low budget maintained by teams. The top teams like Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa also withdrew from the I- League, due to the uncertainty in the roadmap of football by AIFF,” Alex explained.
Parents’ pressure to have financial stability was also noticed as a key factor for migration of young talent.
Derrick Pereira, a successful player and a coach having coached many I-League clubs and also having experience as the assistant coach for FC Goa in ISL offered his take. He feels that the pressure from the parents on having a good life is affecting the young players in the State forcing them to think of easy money by simply acquiring ‘red passport’ and move to Europe.
“At the moment we are losing a lot of talent. There is lot of pressure from parents to see their kids have a good life. We had the best footballers coming from economically-lower sections. There should be proper guidance for these players from the coaches and administrators if they have a good scope in football. If there is future for them, they should be taken seriously,” stressed Derrick.
“It’s not just now that they are moving abroad, it was happening even during our time. But earlier, we had a football culture, which I feel has died down now,” stated Derrick, who is currently the Technical Director at FC Goa.
“Honestly there were many players who were actually better than me and didn’t make it big back then,” revealed Derrick.
Need of more Goan clubs at top level
There was a time when the State had six teams – Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC, Churchill Brothers, Sporting Clube de Goa, Vasco SC and Fransa PAX playing top flight football. Having six teams meant a mammoth platform for Goan players at the top. There were roughly around 120-140 Goan players in the I-League then.
Now that the I-League has been made the second fiddle, the State would definitely need more clubs joining ISL especially Churchill Brothers, who are considering their continuous efforts in joining the rechristened league, which has been now termed as India’s top tier league, which will give an opportunity for the younger generation to play at the top level.
“If we have to think of becoming a powerhouse once again, we have to create opportunities for the youth. Earlier there used to be many clubs at the top tier league in the country and they used to recruit the players. This has now died down as only two clubs play at the top platform,” expressed Derrick, who was also a former coach of Churchill Brothers.
“Having this challenge, I believe we have to create opportunities for the players to be the best. If the player is good, if not in Goa, the players will be easily picked by other state teams,” he stressed.
While AIFF President Praful Patel hinted that Churchill Brothers FC would be part of ISL soon, it’s high time the other clubs such as Dempo SC and Sporting Clube de Goa, consider their return to top flight football soon, to give maximum opportunity to the Goan youngsters thus to making Goa a nucleus for football once again.
