Mukherjee has a vision that will enable FC Goa develop football from the roots

A lot of undue criticism was being plastered on FC Goa for not having started their grass root football programme as mandated by ISL. As it looks now, FC Goa preferred to wait, think properly and then draw plans on a programme that would benefit not just football but themselves too. Fortunately, this planning was entrusted to P.K Mukherjee. P.K does not just understand football-he knows. And, that will be the difference that will demarcate FC Goa’s youth development programmes and the others going on in Goa.

P.K , for starters, is from Bengal. He was the man behind Sesa FA.  He is now advisor, the head honcho of FC Goa- the man who has offered to work without pay because of his commitment to soccer. “Besides learning football, as human beings we need to have values. We have to be humble in any sphere of life.”  reasons P.K  when asked to present the thinking behind youth development in a gamut.

“Apart from having football development centres in rural Goa , we are planning to start an academy. Ours will be an academy that keeps central to the theme the ethos of Goa. We had a rule in the Sesa FA that only Goans will be allowed. That was because we thought then that if we kept it open for children from all over India, there would be cultural differences. The Reliance academy in Mumbai (that is open to all) is facing the problems now,” stated PK Mukherjee.

“Teamwork does not come from the field. It comes from outside. Hence it is very important to stay together. Team work is about anticipation and it comes from being together. How does a father anticipate what his sibling is going to do and vice versa? The same is true in football,” argues Mukherjee.

The Dempo Football Academy is not a dream. It is going to fructify. But , as Mukherjee sees it, the academy  will be economy driven.

“Skill with the ball is essential but more important is skill without the ball. In a match a player gets around three to four minutes with the ball. The player is anticipating and reacting, the remaining time. It is important to develop a player’s skill without the ball. Life skills,” says Mukherjee.

“ The FC Goa youth development programme is on. It has been on for a while. But, we have decided to be cautious. There are sixteen schools and we are thinking of aligning with more schools. Coaches have been appointed. Our coaches cannot fulfil general managerial obligations. I heard Katz Naidoo from South Africa can do that. So, he will be weaning our coaches in that direction,” stated Mukherjee. Our coaches are A license coaches. So they will complement and supplement each other,” stated Mukherjee.

“We are optimising on developing an association with the parents of the kids. This is important because in the end, we are looking at youngsters and their parents play a very important role. We cannot take the role of parents. It will always be child and parent first,” confesses Mukherjee.

“Nutrition is important to be physically fit but it cannot change our DNA frame. We are born the way we are because of our DNA. That’s the way we will be. Look at players from Barcelona. They are what they are. Players cannot be huge by eating. People think by bringing in nutritionist our DNA frame can change. That is wrong. But good food is required” advises Mukherjee .