Dempo raid the East Bengal citadel during a National Football League clash

My heartiest congratulations to Dempo Sports Club and their coach Armando Colaco. Having faded out of the NFL championship race last season after playing out drawn games in the final seven rounds, Dempo made sure they didn’t lose the plot on the home stretch this time around. We must not forget that they had won the Federation Cup earlier in the season as well. Only Mohun Bagan have achieved this ‘fabulous double’ before, which should place Dempo’s achievement in the right perspective.

It was during the final moments of the Federation Cup final against Mohun Bagan when that terrible tragedy happened. Cristiano Junior passed out after collapsing on the field just after he had sealed the crown for Dempo with his second strike. The Brazilian striker, having switched over from East Bengal, had become an important member of the Dempo side in a matter of months. If ever there was an instance of a bunch of players winning a trophy for a teammate, this was it.

Dempo could so well have drowned in sorrow and got their campaign off track. Instead, they used the tragedy as their strength and stayed tunnel-visioned throughout the marathon league. They did not even let the potentially morale-crushing defeat at the hands of East Bengal in the penultimate round affect their minds and beat Tollygunge Agragami to reach the pinnacle for the first time.

The most striking aspect in the Dempo line-up is the absence of a big star. Ranty Martins emerged one as the league progressed, fitting into Junior’s high-scoring shoes, but it was more of a team effort which gave Colaco’s team success. Their defence was ably led by Stanley Colaco, they had two pillars in the midfield in Riston Rodrigues and Clifford Miranda, while Martins was a revelation up front. His receiving, distribution and finishing were equally impressive, and it’s no wonder that he got a call to join the Nigerian national under-23 camp.

There was a time when the fun-loving Goans played carefree, uninhibited soccer without quite caring for the bottomline. They had the flair but neither the solidity nor consistency. With the introduction of the NFL and professional league in their state, they have become disciplined and are now driven by the urge to establish themselves as numero uno in the tournaments that matter.

Having played second fiddle to Bengal for years on end, the Goans are now ready to dominate. The very fact that six of the 12 NFL teams were from Goa and the top-two finishers from that state as well, amply demonstrate the change of guard. There are scores of fans in our state who are despairing at this turn of event, but I see it as a welcome development. This could well be the coming of age for Goan soccer.

The AIFF, in fact, should take the cue and revive the game in pockets where it once was a rage. For example, in states like Kerala, Andhra, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab. If football spreads to different parts, India benefits.

East Bengal missed out completing a rare hattrick, but they should be anything but ashamed at their performance. I feel Subhas Bhowmick did a commendable job without some of last season’s key players. Douglas da Silva’s freak accident midway through the league was a huge blow to the red-and-golds. As I have said before, the Brazilian is not the best foreigner to have played in India but certainly one of the most effective and high-utility men, who proved to be near-indispensable on the strength of his showing in the last three seasons.

Bhaichung Bhutia’s injuries and illnesses meant that Bhowmick didn’t get his services for a major part of the season. Someone like Mike Okoro was sorely missed. Maybe, Ernest Jeremiah as striker would have been a better bet than in midfield. Syed Rahim Nabi and Climax Lawrence scored quite a few goals but Bhowmick was quite often let down by the absence of a genuine striker.

Alvito D’Cunha was the sole gamemaker and although there was much pressure on him, he was outstanding in some of the games. His left-footed artistry reminded me of the late Krishanu Dey.

Sporting Clube de Goa came from nowhere to be the runners-up. This, for a team making its NFL debut and suffering a terrible accident in Calcutta on way to the airport, was the biggest flutter. Powered by the goal-hungry Dudu Omagbemi and a vibrant midfield marshalled by Joseph Perreira and Bibiano Fernandes, Sporting came within striking distance of the title before Mahindra destroyed their dreams in the final round.

Mohun Bagan did avoid the embarrassment of relegation but I had thought they would do so much more convincingly. Had they let in another goal against Churchill Brothers, the century-old club would have slipped to the second division.

Let me share a parting thought with my readers. For the seventh time in nine editions of the NFL, a foreign striker emerged as top scorer. This is very disturbing. I fully support an AIFF proposal to ban foreigners from all tournaments except the NFL.