𝘉𝘺 𝘎𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰 / 𝘒𝘶𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵
The Salgaocar Legends WhatsApp Group was shaken by tragic news this morning (12th October 2020) -- the death of former India Team captain Carlton Chapman.
S. Venkatesh, current assistant-coach of India, a legend of Salgaocars, and a home-town Bangalore friend of Carlton broke the news early this morning which left everyone shattered.
Carlton died of cardiac arrest soon after he had complained about pain in his back around 3am.
Venkatesh (in a phone-call) shared many other details about Carlton, and more importantly the latter’s love for football and for coaching young would-be champions. Venkatesh said he had met Carlton a few days back in Bangalore during a coaching session conducted by both of them.
Many of the Salgaocar icons have been teammates of Carlton Chapman at club and country -- like Franky Barreto (East Bengal & India), Bruno Coutinho, Robert Fernandes, Alvito, Savio Medeira, Jules Dias, Venkatesh, Seby Coelho, Juze Siddi, etc, while many of us had played opposite the legend, numerous times.
𝙂𝙊𝘼𝙉 𝙈𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙄𝙀𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙏𝙊𝙉
Carlton Chapman, with his natural smile, was one of the best midfielders during the 1990s and the early 2000s and had even donned the captain’s armband for India.
He was no gallery player, yet he entertained Fatorda stadium spectators plenty of times during his days with East Bengal and JCT – making those tireless runs while never ever intentionally hurting any opponent.
Bruno Coutinho, under whose captaincy Chapman had donned the blue jersey for India said Indian football had lost one of its great former players.
𝙂𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙏𝙊𝙊 𝙎𝙊𝙊𝙉
Young people in the prime of their life – especially footballers who have been so active all life – aren’t supposed to die from heart disease. But it occasionally happens, making sudden cardiac arrest front-page news.
Is it due to the pressures of life? The hated nature of cardiac among the youth is precisely what makes it so notoriously attention-grabbing.
Carlton played for India so many times. Does AIFF or our local federations do anything to see our footballers are settled well in life after football and fame, do they help them to 'live' and enjoy the game they love?
We all wonder if anything could have been done to prevent such an event in Carlton Chapman’s life.
𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 -- 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻