The team that qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 had close to 40% Goan players in the starting 11. The likes of Mahesh Gawli, Climax Lawrence, Samir Naik and Clifford Miranda were the regulars for the Bob Houghton brigade. A quick look at the last match that India played and you would struggle to find the presence of the Goan born and bred talent. You will see Rowlin Borges in the midfield as the sole representation from the State and Fulganco Cardozo on the bench. In between these times we did see the Goan sparks with Lenny Rodrigues, Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao Desai making it to the National team under the Dutch Coaching regime but number kept on declining towards the Constantine era.
The decline is not only visible in the players in the national team but also in the title wins for the Goan teams at the senior as well as the age group levels. Goa did reach the final of the Santosh Trophy 2017 but it was an obvious luck that took them that far. In the semi-finals, Goa survived the onslaught of Kerala who were the better team on that day. To add to the misery, the big three clubs of Goan football decided to pull out of the I-League and that left only one club to keep the Goan flag flying in the national league.
Now let’s try to understand the possible reasons of this downfall in the only state in India which had declared football as its state sport.
The football state decided to rest on the past laurels and the incumbency factor is growing in the state. Once regarded as the most active state in football organisation, one feels that the things are changing. The stakeholders are many but busy with their own objectives and short term targets. There isn’t any unified vision that one can see.
I have known many Goan players and it’s easy to gauge the lack of intensity as compared to their counterparts in other parts of the country especially the North-East and Punjab. A comparison between our players and that from the Manipur and Mizoram in particular will definitely leave you disappointed. As many football greats term ‘that hunger’ which is missing in the Goan boys.
I am yet to see the next Mahesh Gawli coming through the ranks. The need and motivation to make it big in football is at far lesser levels in the players who enjoy a lot more comfortable environment to play. Sadly that is not leveraged but is breeding complacency.
Probably the only state where there are dedicated institutions to promote and develop football in form of the association, authority, government as well as directorate it has become a case of too many cooks with limited ingredients to prepare a wholesome meal. ‘More the messier’ seems to be the situation in Goa. Lastly, neither the coaching fraternity nor the players are looking at gaining exposures beyond Goa. For coaches specially, there is a constant need to learn and upgrade. Barring a few, I do not see this as a general realisation for raising the bar in Goan football.
The last hope for Goa in the India U-22 team, Assumption Soares lost his spot in the India U-22 team and a more painful fact is not a single Goan player in the India U-17 World Cup squad. Ironically, the U17 team is based in Goa.
Time to think and act before Goa loses its footing and slips further.
