Wanted Goan strikers... -by ARMSTRONG VAZ Goals are the ultimate test of superiority in football. Ultimately the goals count. How you play on a day or how you dominate the entire ninety minutes duration of the match are inconsequential in comparison to the final result. So the focus is on the strikers to deliver the goods, goods in the form of goals. The strikers will be in focus as the Goa Professional Football League kicks from 18th September 2005 at two venues - Duler Grounds Mapusa and Tilak Maidan Vasco.
The strikers take the blame for missing one or many chance and get the attention when they create chances out of thin air. Breaking through the heart of the defense of rival teams is an art and technique which is improved to perfection through sheer practice. A striker is one who has to get a hang of when to release the ball and when to hold on. The class of a player is writ large on his football frame in his releasing the ball at an appropriate time. Selling a dummy, the quick body feints the turning and twisting to beat the defenders is all part of the strikers armory. The Andrews, Bernard, Barettos, Coutinhos, Crastos, Cataos and Domnics have all been part of household names as one reel of Goan strikers who set the fire going on the goal on the football scene. Goan football, by and large, Indian football has been struggling to get a hold of quality strikers in the last five years. The net result - Goan clubs have been looking up to foreign players and resources from outside the state to fortify the loose ends in the strike force. After the exit of Bruno Coutinho, none of the Goan strikers have been able to make a impact on the national scene. East Bengal medio Alvito DCunha, who started as a striker, has since shifted to midfield and none of the Goans have been able to rise to command the respect and instill a fear in the opposition defense and goalkeepers. Gone are the days when a Bruno Coutinho, Roy Baretto, Gasper Crasto, Sarto Baptista, Ignatius Dias, Bento Andrew, Catao Fernandes, Domnic DSouza, Andrew DSouza, Bernard DSouza ruled the roost in Goan Football. Now the Singhs and other players are the ones found dangerous when it comes to enjoying positions up front in the strike force. In the current season Dempo Sports Club have in their ranks a promising striker Joaquim Abranches. Abranches, who started as an under-20 player with Churchill Bros last season has the built and gifted qualities of a class striker. The lanky striker who has turned twenty this season is one player Dempo coach Armando Colaco has taken utmost care to groom for the future challenges. Abranches has showed enough glimpses of his attacking qualities this season and his brace against Sporting Clube de Goa is a grim reminder to the opposition and his fans that he has come of age. Sebestian Endro is another dangerous customer in the Dempo camp. He will be one of the strikers to watch out for in the Goa professional league. Endowed with speed, Endro will take full benefit of any slack in speed on the part of rival defenders. Dempo strike work-load will also be shared between Isfaq Ahmed. The Kashmiri born lad, who, along with ex-Mohan Bagan Meher Ur Din started the practice of Kashmiris moving out of the state and playing in other parts of India. They will look forward in scoring more goals against their names. In the Salgaocar camp, Jyothi Kumar looks the live wire upfront along with Samson Singh. Talented under-20 player Bevan DMello will get his chance in-between to prove his worth, and so will Agnelo Baretto. Aseem will shoulder the additional responsibility of delivering goals for Salgaocar coach Shabbir Ali. In the Fransa camp, seasoned campaigner Alex Ambrose will carry the workload. Alex, a Tata Football Academy product, after showing the initial promise has seen himself faded into (almost) oblivion with his inconsistent performance. At Sporting Club de Goa, Mohd Nizam, the recruit from Delhi will try to have a go at the competition but it remains to be seen how he copes up to the pressure. Agnelo Gomes will hopefully deliver the knock-out punch to the opposition with his speedy runs. Another young striker who will go under the scanner will be Sesa Goa Football Academy product Lector Caido. At Vasco Sports Club Anthony Perieira was the cynosure of all eyes in last years Goa Professional League but could not come up with the same level of consistent goal scoring in the National Football League. The Navelim based striker would have to repeat the same feat under a new coach and under an entire bunch of young players to maintain his rating as one of the emerging strikers in the state. In the Churchill camp, Freddy Mascarenhas showed enough recovery after a major road accident which even forced his way into the selection camp of the National football team. The former Salgoacar striker could maintain the same level of consistency after coming into the latter stages of the league after missing earlier matches through injury. With the focus shifting on him to deliver, and with no foreign players to accompany in the striking department, Freddy will have his vision set on scoring more and more goals or strike the bulls eye. At Raia Sporting, twenty year old Wesley Coutinho playing in the Professional league will be having a feel of the high standards and he would have to carry on his inter-village form and his consistent goal scoring feats of Salcete Football Club. The six foot striker would have to improve on his sublime skills and not entirely rely on his getting goals through headers. Rehman Cardozo will be another striker who will try to bulldoze his way through rival defense playing for Raia sporting club. At MPT, striker Marcus Carvalho, who started as a teenager for Churchill Bros, promised much, but could not fulfill his early promise. He is still around to lend MPT strike force the much needed depth. Another old horse, Vishant Pednekar - short stature and talented like Marcus who could not get a bigger opportunity to play except for a short stint with Salgaocars, is still around to score. Great players are the ones who make the most of the opportunities that come their way. Among the young lot Beevan DMello, Wesley Countinho, Joaquim Abranches and Anthony Perieira hold a lot of promise as the league unfolds. Will they be the ones Goa has been looking for?.. - Gomantak Times Secret of my shot: http://gaspercrasto.tripod.com/id81.html Links to articles on Goa football and footballers: www.goa-world.com/goa/sports/saviomedeira.htm taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/ index/L8AK8LPDYCRMDLHH.pdf www.sports-india.com/viewtopic.php?t=877& view=next&sid=945bf6f885367dfac8fc5e2f82db70c4 gaspercrasto.tripod.com/id95.html www.goanobserver.com/archive/10-7-2004/SPORTS-TRACK.htm oheraldo.in/node/ 1410?PHPSESSID=4aabe31b340e7c7532f4ae60b29f6dbb www.telegraphindia.com/1010727/editoria.htm www.soccernetindia.com/modules. php?name=News&file=print&sid=825 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/message/21 www.indiafootball.com http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050525/asp/sports/story_4784434.asp http://www.indianfootball.de/article/article028.html List of Goa League Champions: 1951-52 Clube Desportivo Chinchinim 1952-53 Sporting Clube de Goa 1953-54 Clube de Desportos de Vasco da Gama 1954-55 Associacao Desportiva de Velha Goa 1955-56 Clube de Desportos de Vasco da Gama 1956-57 Associacao Desportiva de Velha Goa 1957-58 Grupo Desportivo da Policia 1958-59 Clube de Desportos de Vasco da Gama 1959-60 Clube Independente de Margao 1960-61 Clube Desportivo Salgaocar 1962-63 Salgaocar Sports Club 1963-64 Salgaocar Sports Club 1964-65 Vasco Sports Club 1965-66 Salgaocar Sports Club 1966-67 Vasco Sports Club 1967-68 Sesa Goa Sports Club 1968-69 Vasco Sports Club 1969-70 League Unfinished 1970-71 League Unfinished 1971-72 Dempo Sports Club 1972-73 Sesa Goa Sports Club 1973-74 Dempo Sports Club 1974-75 Salgaocar Sports Club 1975-76 not held due to national emergency 1976-77 not held due to national emergency 1977-78 Salgaocar Sports Club 1978-79 Dempo Sports Club 1979-80 Dempo Sports Club 1980-81 Dempo Sports Club 1981-82 Salgaocar Sports Club 1982-83 Salgaocar Sports Club 1983-84 Dempo Sports Club 1984-85 Salgaocar Sports Club 1985-86 Salgaocar Sports Club 1986-87 Dempo Sports Club 1987-88 Dempo Sports Club 1988-89 Salgaocar Sports Club 1989-90 MRF Sports Foundation 1990-91 Salgaocar Sports Club 1991-92 MRF Sports Foundation 1992-93 Salgaocar Sports Club 1993-94 Dempo Sports Club 1994-95 Salgaocar Sports Club 1995-96 Churchill Brothers SC 1996-97 Churchill Brothers SC 1997-98 Churchill Brothers SC Goa Professional League 1998 Salgaocar Sports Club 1999 Churchill Brothers SC 2000 Churchill Brothers SC 2001 Churchill Brothers SC 2002 Salgaocar Sports Club 2003 Salgaocar Sports Club 2004 Salgaocar Sports Club (The above list prepared and maintained by Arunava Chaudhuri for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation ) - Forwarded by www.goa-world.com __________________ Comedian Philip's Konkani Musical Show "Tum Vhoir Aum Sokol" this weekend (Thursday 22nd Sept. 2005) in DUBAI at Al-Nasr Leisureland at 8:30 p.m. Remember it's a P.V. Production's 2nd Musical Show ! Promoted by www.goa-world.com ! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
