CALANGUTE, JUNE 27
Yesteryear’s ace footballer of Parra, Visitacao Lobo was felicitated by villagers of Parra.
The first-ever Goan international footballer Visitacao, a resident of Lobo vaddo, Parra was first selected to represent India on their goodwill tour of Russia in 1970.
Visitacao represented Institute Saldanha, a Second Division Leaque team in 1962 and thereafter made a switch to the then popular First Division Club, Benfica Football Club of Mapusa in 1965.
His penchant for goals caught the eye of the Sesa Goa team, then in the Second Division which offered him an opportunity and it was the mercurial striker that helped Sesa Goa to jump into the First Division and emerged league champs that too without a coach.
After glorious 17 years with Sesa Goa, Visitacao hung his boots in 1983 aftrer a memorable 20-year football career.
Visitacao represented Goa in Santosh Trophy making his debut in the high profile tourney in 1968 in Bangalore and was a regular member for almost a decade thereafter having represented the State at Assam, Chennai, Punjab and Kerala events.
Visitacao was the first Goan footballer to score a hat-trick in Santosh. It was against Kerala in Assam in 1969. And that was the turning point in his career which forced the National AIFF selectors to pick him for the Goodwill Tour of Russia thus making him first-ever Goan international footballer.
Visitacao was felicitated at the hands of Sarpanch of Parra, Benedict D’Souza in the presence of the Parra villagers, including the panchayat members and various personalities.
Benedict welcomed the gathering. Delilah Lobo proposed the vote of thanks. Others who spoke were Jerome Nogueira, Claude Pacheco and Soma Bagli.
