FLAVIO LOPES
flavio@herald-goa.com
VASCO: They were the stuff that Goan dreams were made of. Goan football clubs in their prime, each striding like a colossus, playing their last I-League matches, to be champions, no quarter given, no quarter asked. Dempo, Salgaocar and Churchill Brothers have won six of the last seven I- League editions.
That was then. And then. And then. From these summits, Goan clubs have plummeted into ignominy, far from the glitter of the championship limelight, not fighting for the last crumbs, but to stay all but last, to survive to remain in the I-League. Dempo, Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa are fighting to survive while Churchill Brothers is not even playing in this edition.
If humiliation was ever compressed in a single game, it will be on display at the Tilak Maidan at Vasco.
The relegation will ultimately be decided in Goa with Salgaocar FC taking on Dempo SC, at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco while Sporting Clube de Goa will play for facile pride against Pune FC, at the Nehru Stadium, at Fatorda. The kick-off of both the matches is at 4.30 p.m, today.
Dempo SC have won three I-League titles while Churchill Bros SC have done it twice and Salgaocar FC have clinched it once in the 2010-11 season. It was only new entrants Bengaluru FC, who broke the Goan domination by winning the crown in the 2013-14 season.
“It is really a mystery for me. Never in my life I have seen this happening to Goan clubs. Is it because the Goan teams took things lightly at the start of the season? The employment of foreign players was not up to the standards. I think Dempo will definitely survive as East Bengal will go all out against Shillong Lajong FC for the third position,” said Armando Colaco, former India head coach, who guided Dempo SC to five national titles.
Colaco pointed out that Dempo brought foreign players and then released them. Sporting Clube also brought players and released them due to injuries. Salgaocar surprisingly did not release players for the ISL (Indian Super League) but its fate went downhill like the rest.
“The mood in the camp is upbeat and the boys are raring to go. It is a massive game for us but the fact of the matter is that things are still in our hands. We will look to play our natural game and more importantly stick to the basics,” remarked Salgaocar FC head coach Derrick Pereira.
Clearly when a former champion team plays a last match to survive in the league and its coach calls it a “massive game”, the mighty have indeed fallen.
Salgaocar Sports Club, by the way could lose and still avoid relegation, on Saturday, depending on the results of the other matches, but it is certainly a chance no one, not least coach Derrick Pereira would contemplate taking.
“Needing a draw in the final encounter can sometimes be a tricky situation to be in. But that’s where we find ourselves currently. We will look to put in a strong performance tomorrow and hopefully end the season on a high,” he added.
Six teams entangled within a three point difference are entwined in a heated battle to remain in the I- League and not be the last placed and be relegated. Caught between this melodrama are Salgaocar FC (7th), Sporting Clube (8th), Shillong Lajong FC (9th) and Dempo SC (10th).
As Dempo and Salgaocar start at the Tilak Maidan at Vasco, football will not be the only thing on the feet of the 22 players. On their feet will be their hearts and those of football lovers of Goa.
The mighty have indeed fallen. It doesn’t matter what the result will be.
