By Gasper Crasto
Roll back the wheel of history - International Nehru Cup Football - year 1989.
The tournament was held at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. TEAM INDIA had 6 Goan players in the squad including the captain.
In a star studded team, presence of Goans included Derrick Pereira, Mauricio Afonso (Captain), Savio Madeira, Norbert Gonsalves, Mario Soares and John Araujo.
It was a joy just to see our 'own' players on the field when we went to watch.
FAST FORWARD to the present day - 6th October 2017 - 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup Football starts in India.
Not a single Goan player in Team India U-17 squad.
What happened Goa? - a state known for football, a power house of star footballers..!
Where did it all go wrong? And where is it all heading to?
Most star players around the world are born out of the colts... Are we looking to breed the stars from the wrong end?
DIMINUTIVE STAMINA
As many as 8 players from Manipur made the cut in the 21-man squad for the India U17 World Cup team including a Manipuri captain.
3 players are from Punjab.
3 players from West Bengal
2 from Maharashtra
2 from Karnataka
3 players from Kerala, Sikkim and Mizoram
Manipuri, Mizo & Sikkimese players are known for great stamina. But are they capable of standing up to the height, built and physique of the Americans, Colombians and African Ghanaians whom we face in the first round?
WHAT HAPPENED TO GOAN PLAYERS
7 boys from Goa were shortlisted for possible selection to the India U-17 national team.
The players were chosen from 30 probables shortlisted from Goa by the AIFF regional scouts.
The selected Goan boys – defenders Warren Carl Fernandes and Sashane Kahar, midfielders Malcolm Mervin Gonsalves, Jovin Seby De Melo, David Jason Baptista Cardoso and Larryl Rancio Mascarenhas and striker Vijay Rathod went through their paces before being thrown out in the final phase.
Were they that bad?
I do not doubt the selection at national level knowing fully well there is no reservation for any state. The selection always remains a fairly open process to identify players expected to put India on the global footballing stage.
But there should have been some consideration for Goa given our legacy in football right from the Portuguese times.
Some of our Goan footballers in the history of Indian football have brought laurels for India. To name a few, we had Olympian Neville D'Souza, Andrew D'Souza, Nicholas Pereira, Bernard Pereira, Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, Anthony Rebello, Camilo Gonsalves, Bento Andrew, Mahesh Lotlikar, Chandrakant Naik, Mauricio Afonso, Arnold Rodrigues, Derrick Pereira, Savio Madeira, Lawrence Gomes, Johnny Araujo, Lector Mascarenhas, Norbert Gonsalves, Mario Soares, Bruno Coutinho, Roy Barretto, Francis Silveira, Roberto Fernandes, Seby Coelho, Franky Barretto, Jules Alberto, Mahesh Gawli, Alvito D'Cunha, Alex Ambrose, Climax Lawrence, Seby Antao, Victor Lobo, Sarto Baptista, etc.
It seems an UNBELIEVABLE dream that Goa will ever come up with a superstar in the years to come if things go as they are. We may just end up playing football on the beach...
In any case, let us hope India does INCREDIBLY well in the first ever FIFA tournament to be staged by India.
Best wishes Team India.
Group A Fixtures
October 6 India vs United States 20:00 IST
October 9 India vs Colombia 20:00 IST
October 12 Ghana vs India 20:00 IST
MATCHES AT FATORDA STADIUM, GOA
Group Stage: October 7
Germany vs Costa Rica- 17:00 GROUP C
Iran vs Guinea- 20:00 GROUP C
October 10:
Costa Rica vs Guinea - 17:00 GROUP C
Iran vs Germany - 20:00 GROUP C
October 13:
Costa Rica vs Iran - 17:00 GROUP C
Niger vs Brazil - 20:00 GROUP D
Round of 16: October 17
[1C] v/s [3A/B/F] 17:00
[2B] v/s [2F] 20:00
Quarter Finals: October 21
[W38] vs [W41] 20:00
:::ABOUT THE WRITER - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasper_Crasto