Santosh Trophy, once a symbol of supremacy in Indian football, no longer enjoys the label. It has lost its lustre simply because players registered for the I-League cannot play in this championship. This means the top Goan players will not be seen in this competition and the State’s second best team will fight for supremacy due to which Goa’s chances of claiming the title will be diminished. This will also affect all the teams.
Goa will host the Santosh Trophy final round from March 12 to 26 at Tilak Maidan and Athletic Stadium, Bambolim with the final slatted to be played on March 26 at Bambolim under floodlights.
Goa had last won the championship in 2009 and had reached the semi-final in the 2016 edition.
The All India Football Federation in its terms and conditions of eligibility for players has particularly said that they should not be registered with any I-League clubs at the time of registration (ART.4 – 1.6).
With the introduction of this rule, it looks like the AIFF is trying to devalue Santosh Trophy despite the fact that this is the only tournament for the States to measure their strength against each other.
Savio Messais felt that the Santosh Trophy was no longer the tournament it was years back.
“The Santosh Trophy has become a diluted tournament. It is no longer the tournament what it was years ago. The shine of the tournament has faded”.
“I would prefer fielding an Under-21 team and excelling which would be appealing to the spectators. I am sure the Goan public would love to encourage youngsters. We have a rich tradition as our Under-21 team has won the nationals for 5 years.”
“AIFF in future should stop the Santosh Trophy and start Under-21 tournament all over again,” he said
The GFA should have fielded an Under-21 team for the Santosh Trophy which would promote youngsters and give them a platform to perform well and also would probably bring more crowns, he felt.
Savio remembered the Lusofonia Games wherein an under 21 team played and received huge crowd support.
Even after the withdrawal of three Goan teams (Sporting Clube de Goa, Salgaocar Sports Club and Dempo Sports Club) from the I-League most of the players have joined the other teams outside the State.
Top Goan players like Mandar Rao Desai (Bengaluru FC), Romeo Fernandes (East Bengal), Laxmikant Kattimani (Mumbai FC) are still with the other I-League teams.
“We had expected that with only Churchill Brothers in the I-League, we would get maximum of top players but it didn’t happen so. Unfortunately our players have been taken by the other outstation teams in the I-League”, said an upset GFA vice-president (North) Lavinio Rebello.
“Our dream of getting the cream of footballers has vanished overnight as the outstation teams have poached the players due to which Goa will not be able to field players in full strength.”
Lavinio came down heavily on the AIFF saying the association needs to change their mindset.
“They need to know that we are growing in the world where competition is there. They are killing the competition.
“The AIFF is still in the shell and they need to come out of it. Goa has been doing so much for football. We have been conducting 1000 plus tournaments that too without any financial support and without corruption and yet we are crawling in football.”
“In spite of this the AIFF has not been supporting the State which has been doing the maximum for football,” he added.
Goa has shortlisted 20 players for the championship out of which two players have joined the Churchill Brothers namely Richard Costa and Fulganco Cardozo.
“We are in the process of replacing both these players. We have asked five players to join the camp, out of which two will be selected. Coach Mateus is already in the process of finalising the final squad,” Goa Football Association General Secretary Welvin Menezes informed.
Welvin said ‘it was not an easy task for Goa to be allotted the finals as there were bids from other states, Kerala being the closest.
“The bid forms are sent to all the associations at the beginning of the season. The GFA had bid for either Santosh Trophy or Sub-Junior. It was a close call between Kerala and Goa. And finally the State was given the opportunity to host the finals of Santosh Trophy while Kerala was given Sub-Juniors tournament,” Welvin said.
Welvin admitted that last year the team did not have sufficient time to prepare for the event, but this time around there is ample of time to blend and get ready.
“Compared to previous years, this year the practices of the final round has started quite early. The boys are getting more time compared to last year. This will help the boys sharpen their skills and hopefully bring home the Trophy.”
With the second string of players it looks like the crowd attendance may not match the event. Welvin, however, informed the GFA had taken this point into consideration and accordingly asked the Bambolim ground as the tournament’s main venue.
“Initially we had requested for the Duler Stadium as we wanted to shift the base from North to South considering the crowd turnout but it was rejected by AIFF for some reason. So we opted for the Bambolim stadium expecting crowd from Panjim and surrounding areas. The second venue is the Tilak Maidan, Vasco.
“The State team will definitely benefit if the supporters come in large numbers”, he said.
“Santosh Trophy finals will be held in Goa after 20 long years and if the crowd doesn’t support now, when will they? If the supporters come in huge numbers it will definitely make the difference,” he quipped.
“We also have some hiccups regarding the Bambolim Stadium since the ground is booked by FIFA for the Under-17 World Cup and instructions have been given not to allow any tournaments on this venue. But hopefully things will be settled soon,” he added.
“Out of the total 23 matches we had projected 14 matches at Bambolim Stadium and nine at Vasco but the equation might change.”
“Our mission is to bring back to Goa the lost glory and with the support of fans we will definitely bring it back,” Welvin concluded.
The 2016-17 Group A teams include Chhattisgarh, Goa, Meghalaya, Services and West Bengal while the Group B teams are Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab and Railways.
“We have already started practicing at the Rosary Ground, Navelim and the boys are very happy to play in the State itself. They have been working hard with the aim of bringing home the trophy,” Coach Mateus Costa said.
“Goa has not won the trophy for a very long time in spite of having some good players. This year the trophy will surely be ours,” he said.
“Our group is tough but the performance is always better when we face tough teams. Our players will rise on the occasion,” he felt.
The AIFF has introduced a new rule this year wherein each team has to compulsorily field a minimum of 3 under 20 players.
“The new rule introduced by the AIFF will help the young players show their skills and showcase their talent,” the coach said.
