Ultimately Goa has successfully organised the biggest soccer tournament on its soil by spending 4 months and this was done so successfully because of the three excellent grounds Goa has which are of international standard. Dayananda Bandodcar the first Chief Minister of Goa whom I hate like Lucifer who was responsible to sow the seed of destruction of Goa by openly indicating his wishes to turn Goa into communal by siding openly and aggreesively to his own community thus indicating his deslike for the Christian community but yet I admit his love for Goan soccer where he never applied his commmunaiism and trested every one as qual. Discussing with the then big man of Indian soccer Mr. Ziauddin based in Bombay where he was running hias own school, Mr. Bandodcar while on the subject of soccer field and Ziauddin praising Bombay for having on its soil an excellent foot-ball ground at Cooperage which was the world class, said Bandodcar “you people will never develop the soccer in India because you are not capable to have enough of soccer fields to play soccer. It is so many years now that you are having one soccer gound in Bombay and on top of it you are not even thinking to increase its number. Otherwise you go and see we have in such a small place Goa, three world class grounds and we can have any number of world class soxccer tournamnets.
After the gruelling 4 months of extra ordinary tournament where we witnessed the mode of modern scientific soccer under the indian Soccer League where a good number of foreign players holding foreign nationality were allowed to participate. Though they were not ex World Cuppers yet according to their level one could make out that they were of reasonably high standard and by observing the mode of their game our local boys especially the upcoming can learn a lot. What these foreigners indicated on the football field while exhibiting their performance our local boys would never get elsewhere. See the Mourtada Fall a negro from black Africa inspite of having short stature he could jump like an Olympian high jumper and because of this speciality he scored so many goals from the corner kicks taken by his colleagues. Though he was hard hitter and robust tackler yet he was the most dependable defender and untiring player having abundant quantity of stamina stored in his body. Likewise so many other players holders of foreighn nationality who proved their worth and from whom we have to lesrn a lot.
When Diogo Armando Maradona whom we know only as Maradona when he was recruited by Napoli Club of Italy, Napoli was very much down on the Italian League ladder but with Maradona in their squad, singlehandkedly maradona changed the 0utlook of their game and acquired for Napoli the first time League championship. Within a year of his joining the Napoli team, there was a total revolution in Italian soccer where the local boys started imitating and playing at least in some way how Maradona played. Though it was impossible for any other player to play like Maradona but still in Italy very mny foitballers acquired his tactics and teckniques and gave to the Italian soccer a different outook by. Following Maradona’s style in many respects. It was during his peak form Maradona joined Napoli and having no money in their kitty to pay Maradona, the Napoli Club produced artificial hair or Wigs depicting Maradona’s hair style whch were sold not only in Italy but even elsewhere too and youngsters were crazy after these Wigs.
Now in India we have not only millionaires but also billionaires who are madly in love with the soccer, they must be coaxed by the top ISL Clubs to sponsor at least one or two top rated players in the world for each team so that they help us to develop our soccer which is very backward compared to other nations in the world. See the standard of small small nations in the South America, inspite of being so poor compared to our nation they are gone so far ahead and we are still struggling to win a Trophy in our our own continent. See the Oil rich Arab Countries in the Gulf, almost all the GCC States participated not only in the Olympics but also in the World Cup and we felt afraid and shy to accept the invitation without even having qualified to participte in one World Cup tournament in the fifties.
The final of this year’s edition of ISL tournament was played yesterday between Mumbai City and ATK Mohun Bagan at Fatorda Stadium which was built in record time under the strong supervision of ex Minister of Goa Monte Cruz. The match started at 7.30 pm and the first half was well dominated by our neoighbours but due a goof in front of their goal by both their defenders Fall and Jahu, the ball went to Williams of Mohun Bagan who released such a powerful right footer from inside the Box that the ball hit the back of the net in front of keeper of MUumbai City. Thereafter the Mumbi maintained the upper hnd of the play and managed to equalise the score thru a self goal thru a mishead by one of their defendes. But the one of the most wonderful goals of the tournament was the winning goal by MumbaI Bipin Singh that gave no opportunity to Bagan keepr to stop it in the dying minutes of the game. All said and done, the Mumbai City was the deservi9ng winner and I congratulate them and more to their Coach Sergio Labera who inspite of giving his best last season for Goa and iinspite of doing so much he was discarded by the Non-Goan management of FC Goa. Lobero proved finally his worth nnd those who were tying to side step him became big Zero. Lobero has his own speciality and being a very good reader of the game like Argntinians Dr. Carlos Bilardo and Ceaser Menotti – both were world Cup winners and Brazilian Tele Santana, can cha nev the game to his advantage..
One of the players who was outstanding not only in the final yesterday but throughout the tournament was Mohun Bagan’s Roy Kriishnan. He is one of the peprfect players among all the players not only Indians but also outsiders. His running skill is so good especially when he is sprinting that it looked he was running in the Olympics one humdred metres race completing 100 mmetres in 9.9 seconds. If anybody with authority approaches him and inducts him in the Indian Athletics field training him for the next Olympic in Sprint by ignoring soccer for a few years, I feel he will get India a Gold Medal in sprinting. He uses his brain very well by increasing his pace and strides when required. Physically also he is very fit like Ben Johnson. Givn a proper coaoching, he can become a Gold Medal prospect for India.
Once again I must say the refereeing as poor and during the next eition ISL organiser must find a way to close all the loopholes inn this field.
A.Veronica Fernandes