PANJIM: Ex-international Goan legendary football player, Menino Anjos Figueiredo from Carmona, who captained the Goa State team which made its maiden appearance in National Santosh Trophy in 1964, passed away at Mother Care Hospital in Margao early morning on Saturday. He was 86. His funeral will take place at Carmona Church on Sunday at 4 pm. He leaves behind three children.
Tall and well built Menino was one of those Goans who literally sprouted from the fields, to later play football on the turf greens and beat the best. He is one of those Goans who was good enough to play alongside the ‘packles’ (whites) during the Portuguese days. He also played alongside the best and beat many an Indian player when Goa became part and parcel of India.
Defender Menino had the privilege of captaining the Goa team which participated for the first time ever in the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship in 1963-64. He also captained the Goa team in the Santosh Trophy in 1964 in Guwahati. He was among the first Goans who was trained and bred in Goa to play for India.
Menino excelled as the right defender earning the nickname ‘khambo’ or pillar. He was good at using both feet and was also equally confident in the air. He played a technical game and was very tough. The late Olympian Fortunato Franco recounted that Menino had a temper and a no-nonsense attitude. There was a ‘packlo’ player in the team who got so annoyed that he walked out midway as Menino would just not pass the ball to him as he didn’t think he was good enough for the team.
Menino, it was, who made Salgaocar an unbeatable force in Goa. When in Delhi in 1962 as Salgaocar were playing in the DCM Cup, the team was invited by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at his residence and it is there that the Government took notice of the Goan brand of football.
Menino started playing at 17 with MCC and was part of the Goa selection which played against Benfica of Portugal and Karachi Port Trust at Panjim Police ground in 1959. He was also part of the team that was to tour Portugal in 1961, but it did not take place following Goa’s annexation.
Menino became the first Goan football player to represent India when Russia visited India on a goodwill tour in 1963, although Goan-origin players from Bombay such as Neville D’Sousa (1953), Joe D’Sa (1954), Fortunato Franco and Dereck D’Sousa (both 1960) wore the National colours before him.
Menino spent 13 fruitful years with Salgaocar where he was indispensable. It was in 1963-64 season that the stalwart defender led Salgaocar to win the First Division League crown with an unbeaten record. He was invited for the India XI which played an exhibition match against an Australian side in 1967 in Mumbai.
Menino also played in the maiden Bandodkar Gold Trophy in 1970 where Salgaocar finished as runners-up to Leaders Club of Punjab.
Churchill Alemao, president of Churchill Bros FC, while condoling the death of Menino, stated: “I had the privilege of having witnessed Menino playing as a right centre-back. There is no player like him among the Goans. He was adept in using both legs with ease and was extremely good in aerial duels. He was an outstanding defender who later on switched over to the midfield.”
Arjuna Awardees Brahmanand Sankhwalkar and Bruno Coutinho paid rich tributes to the legendary football player. “We have fond memories of the Legend. He was a towering figure who could cover the entire ground with ease. He was also one of the preliminary coaches with the SAG at Carmona. Without any licence, he would impart training based on his sheer immense experience in football,” remarked Brahmanand.
Valanka Alemao, AIFF Executive Committee member, recalled that Menino would often say that it is one’s deep love for the game that is paramount to become a highly successful football player in the ultimate analysis, while playing for money could last only for a short time.
For him, love for the game was the ultimate whereas today’s players concentrate more on money as such have a short stint, she added.
Menino lives on as a beacon of a time when football was played for passion and not for money only.
GFA’s president Caitano Fernandes, senior vice-president Anthony Pango, Jonathan D’Sousa, Schubert Furtado, Francisco Nunes, Mauricio Almeida, Anthony Vas, Sanjeev Nagvekar; Tony Remedios, Tonito Botelho, Aggie Alcassoas, Angelo Albuquerque, Welwyn Meneses, Victor Gonsalves, Domnic Pereira, John Fernandes, Greg D’Sousa, Frankie Fernandes, Francis D’Sousa, Eugenio Cardoso, Lector Mascarenhas, Cowan Lourenco, Francisco Lume Pereira, Irineu Gonsalves, Norbert Gonsalves, Hanzel Vaz, Arnaldo Costa, Oswald and several others also condoled the death of the legendary football player.