MERCES, FEB 14
The return of six experienced players from National duty to the Dempo Sports Club fold, gave some respite for coach Armando Colaco and the win against Churchill Bros would have definitely given him a boost.
There is no time to relax for Armando as Dempo begin the quest for their next important frontier, the AFC Champions League. And to qualify for the Champions League, Dempo have to beat Al Sadd of Qatar, whom they face on February 19.
The winner will claim a spot in the AFC Champions League alongside Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia), Esteghlal (Iran) and Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan), while the loser joins Al Qadsia (Kuwait), Al Saqr (Yemen) and Shurtan (Uzbekistan) in the AFC Cup.
Pressure was quite evident on the face of Armando as he spoke to the media about the prospect of facing the Qatar side. He appeared quite confident of his team’s ability to face the acid test as he said: “The last game against Churchill Bros has only proved the fact that Dempo are still the best and the players are only eager to go out and give a winning performance.”
Stating that the Qatar side is a good team, Armando quipped that to be the best, you have to be the best and stated that the team will go out and play with determination.
“Playing against international teams will only help strengthen Dempo,” he added and said that playing more often against strong sides will help Dempo raise its level of football to a higher standard.
Armando said that the players were gelling quite well and he hoped that they maintain the same momentum against the Qatar team.
“Winning and losing is part of the team,” he further added and said that even the best of teams can falter as in football, even minnows can upset the applecart of the hot favourites.
When questioned whether there is a need for recruitment of any player to strengthen the team further, Armando said that there is no need to unsettle a perfectly balanced side. “And if I say that there is a need of more players, I will be only doing injustice to the players who have been performing outstandingly,” he concluded.
Dempo shift to
new premises
Dempo Sports Club got its club house shifted to its own premises in the city here, which was inaugurated by Shrinivas Dempo, Chairman, at Dempo House, in the presence of Vishwasrao Dempo, coach Armando Colaco, players, club officials and others.
Fr Anton Albuquerque blessed the club house and prayed for Dempo SC to achieve greater heights in the future.
Shrinivas felt that there was a need for greater interaction among the players and the management, so that nobody should feel left out and everybody could live like one big family.“Since all our offices are housed at Dempo House, we felt that the club house should also be moved here, as it will present an opportunity for the team to have extra bonding with the management,” he informed.
“Apart from facilities for their regular physical training sessions, the players will be also provided with facilities to relax,” he informed and added that any player who has any grievance would be able to do so without any fuss as the management is also housed in the same building.
Shrinivas further said that the club house is only a small step in the direction of bringing professionalism in the club and hoped that the government allots land, which the club has identified in Santa Cruz, so that the Dempo SC can own a stadium of its own.
“The proposal of allotting land has already been sent to the government,” he added and said that once the land is allotted, the management can then think about building an academy of its own, where upcoming players can interact with the senior players and excel in the sport.
On the performance of Dempo SC in the I-League, Shrinivas expressed satisfaction at the position where they are currently placed, despite the absence of six players who were selected for the Indian team.
Shrinivas was also all praise for his young players who, he said, were able to prove their worth for the team, in the absence of the senior players.
Shrinivas was also quite optimistic of its chances in the AFC Championship and said that the way the team performed against Churchill Bros in their last outing, he has full faith that the team will be able to handle pressure and perform well at the AFC Championship.
