“LUTTINI LOKH ANI LAKHANI FULAM”, that was the scene in the Parra Church and Cemetry yesterday afternoon for the funeral of one of the greatest footballers of Goa, the late Visitacao Lobo. It was a sea of humanity mainly the seniors and elders with bald heads and gray hair, some with walking sticks and some limping coming from all over Goa, all attending the funeral to pay their last respect of course deservingly for their yesteryears hero who once entertained them and to others with his magical power of soccer on the football field.
It is very much admiring to see the entire Goa paying its respect to this soccer wizard in this manner. In his death people of Goa and the media especially the Herald not treated Visitacao Lobo as their forgotten hero but treated him with due respect for his enormous contribution in the field of soccer. It was a rare occasion for me to witness such a mammoth funeral which indicated the greatness of the dead during his soccer playing career.
A section of the mourners in the Cemetry.
It was a very good scene of reunion for the retired footballers especially for those ex colleagues of Visitacao Lobo and for me it was a God given opportunity to meet some of my ex colleagues along with whom I played my best of football once upon a time. I needed especial introduction to know them as I met them after ages but luckily for me all remembered me and I remembered them. Some of the former mighty colleagues of Visitacao Lobo who played with him for the then mighty Sesa Goa soccer team from the time of Sesa’s second division present for the funeral were Timothy and his brother Maurice, Albino, Ernesto Braganza, Pandu and others.
In his death, his village Parra lost the greatest footballer, Goa and India lost one of the greatest footballers of whose type we will not easily see again.
May his soul rest in peace.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Candolim, Goa.
Tel:7507394349.