Dempo and FC Goa football star Romeo Fernandes, who gave a splendid show at the Hero Indian Super League (ISL), has made every Indian and indeed every Goan proud by becoming the first Indian to play in Brazil for a top Brazilian club. This after goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu became the first Indian to play for a top division side outside India.
Romeo Fernandes played for a good 24 minutes for Clube Atletico Paranaense, a top notch football club of Brazil. The 22-year-old midfielder, who notched up three goals and two assists in 11 appearances for FC Goa in the Indian Super League, was reportedly brought in the 69th minute against Nacional PR during the last round match of the Campeonato Paranaense. But the best part was that Romeo was asked to play in the attacking position as a striker even though he is more of a midfielder.
Even though Romeo did not score in his team’s 5-0 win, he did get a cross ball while in a scoring position but was flagged off-side. The winger was training with the reserves since joining Atletico on loan from Dempo but was promoted to the senior team in the run-up to the fixture against Nacional PR. FC Goa coach for the ISL, Zico apparently recommended the winger to Atletico and the club seems to have taken the recommendation pretty seriously. Be that as it may, playing his first competitive match for a club as big as Atletico Paranaense will have done a world of good for the confidence of the Goan football star and we will obviously be hearing more of his exploits on Brazilian turf playing for a top notch Brazilian club.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
