Soccoro showed height was never a handicap

There was a time when football in Goa produced some of the finest defenders in the country. They were mostly tall, hard to get by and rarely lost an aerial dual. In this era stood out Socorro Coutinho because he was the shortest of them all. If the others were six feet, Soccoro was just about four or perhaps even less . Yet , to get past Socorro was more difficult than getting past any wall.

Soccoro was known as the soft giant from Varca who would never let the ball past him. If the ball had to go through him, one had to roll past Socorro and he was one player who could not just be beaten on the ground but on the air too.

“ When I was young, I used to tie strings against two mango trees next to my house and practise high jump every day. Whenever I was free, I used to practise jumping and that is the reason why I used to jump so high to head the ball,’ explains Socorro.

Like many football players of his time, Socorro started playing when in school. From school he joined Mocidade de Colva for a year and switched to Shantilal SC for the next. From Shantilal to Sesa Goa and finally to Dempo Sports Club in 1969. “ I started with a monthly salary of Rs 75 per month. I was employed as mechanic,” recollects Socorro.

Socorro Coutinho started playing football by stuffing grass in his socks. As he grew in love with the game and grew as a player, he continued by stifling attacks.  He actually started as a midfielder but it was his ability to fall back that saw him being pushed to the defense by Coach Cyril Feraao.

“ I could burst down chasing for the ball. Seeing this ability to run after the ball prompted Cyril to ask me to play as defender. That is how I was moved to the defense with Dempo sports Club,’ avers Socorro Coutinho.

Despite his height, Socorro had a reach for the ball that stupefied spectators in Goa . He could leap high to intercept any ball;slide to tackle any forward from getting past him and had a shot at goal that made him a master of set pieces for many years with Dempo Sports Club.

Before the arrival of the Brazilians , Dempo SC had a Mexican coach called Arthur(I forget his surname).Arthur was saw the power in Socorro’s shot and from then on – as long as he was there- Soccoro was his dead ball specialist. “ He has a shot that can break a pole,” Arthur once said about Socorro.

Soccoroo Coutinho represented Goa for fifteen years in the Santosh trophy. He was called for six India selection trials but never found himself in the final team.  “There was something to it. It was not that I was not selected because there were better players then me. It was just that I was not to play for India,” says Socorro.

After joining Dempo in 19169, Socorro continued till 1983. It was in 1983 after playing with a shoulder holder for almost six months – or maybe even more- that Socorro stopped playing. “ I had a dislocation during the match against Punjab police in Calicut. I dislocated my shoulder after falling wrongly. There were no hospitals close by and no extra players. I was bandaged and continued playing. I continue playing for over six months with a bandage,” recollects Socorro.

“In our days we had eighteen players who played eleven positions. There was hardly any surplus and there was really no need for surplus because we all played in any position when we had to. It was a type of total football that each player had inculcated in himself,” reflects Socorro.

“In our days, if we started wall passing on the left it was a signal that a ball would be floated on the right. We understood each other well and we had our own styles of messaging each other. That is why our games were so unpredictable and so exciting,” explains Socorro.

“At our time we played 3-2-5. Yet, we were so compact. It is different now and it is not a difference that is improving the quality of football. Football without mental and physical strength is not football.  It is another game and that is why people do not flock to see games these days,” says Socorro.

“Arthur (the Mexican coach) was a tactician. He had immense knowledge of the game and in my opinion was one of the best Dempo had. Bob Bootland was a physical fitness buff. Tuesday and Friday were his death days. He brought the standard of physical fitness to such heights that we were venerated wherever we went for the manner we could play,” recollects Socorro.

“ In my days , I used to eat a lot of tender coconuts. Maybe five or six a day after practise. I think that was the secret of my vitality. I pushed myself to great lengths and never felt being weighed down.  The zeal to do better was always present,” says Socorro.

The Goan leopard that never bit

In the early seventies a leopard was being nurtured in Goa. It had no spots. Just long legs and arms which  liked to fondle a ball. It did not roam or go wild. It stood between two posts kept at a distance of eight yards and for twenty five years tried to stop every ball going  into the posts. So, was a born a phenomenon called Brahmanand Sancoalcar.

From 1974 till now Goa has yet to see a goalkeeper surpass the stature of Brahmanand. He was the best goalkeeper of his times and still the best goalkeeper Goa has ever had.Goa had more goalkeepers but none could surpass him in saves. Leopards grow spots but this leopard  left behind memories that few have been able to emulate.

Mythology says, nothing grows under a banyan tree and the truth is no goalkeeper in Goa could grow because Brahmanand was the banyan tree of Goan football. He guarded the goal for twenty five years and gave no one to have a better glimpse of the ball. Boli was unbelievable. He read the flight, he gauged the power, he anticipated the pace and that is why he was there before the ball could cross the goal line.

He flew from post to post, jumped high to tip over the ball or simply curled around the ball at the opponents feet. The principle was clear – no goal.

Brahmanand started playing for Panvel SC in 1970 and played last for Anderson Marine in 1995. In between he donned colours for Salgaocar SC and Churchill brothers but his tryst with Salgaocar will be the most memorable. For seventeen years his shape lent contours to the club that helped him be the best goalkeeper in India.

From club to state to country, the trajectory of the village boy from Taleigao was phenomenal. It was never about how many goals he let in or how many ball he stopped from entering the nets. It was about how he kept himself motivated at a time when coaching for goalkeepers was not existent.

When Brahmanand was in the goal, it was not about how he stopped the ball from going in because he was a custodian with grace and elegance. Goa in those days had good goalkeepers. However, none appeared good enough in front of Brahmanand.  Such was his dominance under the goalposts.

Boli played at a time when Goa had some of the best strikers in the country- Dominic Soares, Albino Fernandes, Bernad  Pereira , Shabir Ali and many more. Yet, he ranks Albino as the one who gave him sleepless nights. “Albino was a guy who it was difficult to predict when he was going to shoot. He was totally unpredictable and that is why he was the most difficult strikers of those days for me,” he recollects.

“The Santosh Trophy final of 1983 was the best game of my career. I did not concede a goal for 210 minutes in the finals and we brought home the trophy for the first time. It was a final where I was on one side and the rest of team India were on the other (the rest of the India players were representing Bengal that year).

“I had to leave Salgaocar because I got an opportunity to do a coaching course. At that time, Salgaocar did not permit a coach to be a player in the team. So, I had to quit Salgaocar to do my coaching license. When I returned I could not stay away from the game and chanced to meet Churchill who asked me to join his team. I jumped over,” avers Boli.

Brahmanand stopped playing in 1995 and from then on Goa has not had a goalkeeper anywhere near to him. Most clubs scout for goalkeepers across the border. “ We have had many boys with talent and many still have. But, these boys lack dedication in them. You cannot be born a goalkeeper. To be a good goalkeeper involves a lot of hard work. Hardwork can be seen in performance. If you get a boy who is dedicated, he is not consistent. This is the problems,” states Brahmanand.

Vishwas shared his football wisdom

Football players in Goa in the seventies were not moulded. They individually got themselves into a mould and with a few tips, here and there, left behind lasting impressions of their own styles of play. Many retired when their feet could not take them further while others stepped onto different branches of football.

Vishwas Goankar was one of them. As a player, he was a classic defender who made life miserable for most strikers. Standing over 6 feet, Vishwas made getting the ball past him tough. If you beat him , one would have to run faster because Vishwas would try to beat you to get the ball back.

Vishwas Gaonkar started playing football under Andrew – of the famous ABCD quartet of Vasco SC. “Andrew was my first coach. He taught me the basics and I actually started playing as a midfielder. It was only after joining Salgaocar that I switched to left wing back and eventually became a defender,” says Vishwas.

In his hey days , Vishwas Gaonkar was the best stopper back of Sesa Sports Club and one of the best defenders in Goa. He belonged to the group of Nicholas Pereira, Mahesh Lotlikar and Leopoldo Fernandes.

When Vishwas was beaten he looked mean. He appeared to charge at his opponents and stretched his legs to win the ball back. Yet , despite his angry looks , Vishwas was the type of player never really to be booked.  “ I used to play tough but never rough. I have a strong heart. I must have got around two cards during my career. I used to frighten my opponents but to hurt them was never my style,” admits Vishwas.

“During my days, the role of a coach was to maintain the physical fitness of players. We were not thought football. I learnt by myself, practising alone or by just watching others. It was all individual effort and a lot of hard work went into it,” confesses Vishwas.

Sesa Sports Club was the baby of coach Joao Mello for years. He went where Sesa went or Sesa went where Mello went. The two were inseparable and out of this bond grew Vishwas Gaonkar. Vishwas was Mello’s blue eyed defender. “Coach Mello used to urge me to move forward during corner kicks. I was trained to head and it is because of him that I scored goals,” admits Vishwas.

“ I was not born a player. I wanted to become a good player and I worked hard for that . My hard work paid off,” asserts Vishwas looking back at his days. “ I do not remember how many Santosh Trophy’s I took part in but remember the first one was in Patna. I must have played for three or for more years. During my days there were many good defenders. To get into the team was a big achievement,” confesses Vishwas.

“Goa had the cream of defenders of the country. Playing for Goa was as good as playing for India . I really have no regrets for not getting the opportunity to wear the Indian colours,’ ”admits Vishwas.

“Domnic Soares was the toughest forward I ever faced. Domnic used to make us dance to his tunes. He could fool two or three of us easily. I never came across a forward with the talent Domnic had. He was very intelligent and that made it difficult to judge his next steps,” says Vishwas.

“I was disciplines as a player. I hated to be benched and that is why I worked hard to keep myself in the first eleven. I never missed practise and luckily suffered no major injuries. It was only later in my career that I suffered from muscle pull,” recounts Vishwas.

Vishwas’s journey has been one from player to coach. Vishwas’s transition took about a year. After completing his NIS he started coaching Sesa Goa and was with the team until it was disbanded.  “ I joined the Sesa Football Academy (SFA) afterwards .” opined Vishwas.

Vishwas was with Sesa FA for eight years and is still remembered by the students who have passed out for the lessons in discipline that he imparted to them. 

“The joy I got in football I do not get in business. Playing were the best moments of my life. What football gives me, nothing else can give. It is something difficult to explain. The money I earned in football is greater than the money I make in business. The happiness of football is not possible to replace,” says Vishwas who runs a fourteen room boutique hotel in Morjim.

“Football has no direction today. We do not know where we are going. If it has taken us a decade to replace Bhutia , it is proof that football is not going anywhere,” avers Vishwas.

“Nicholas Pereira is the best player I have seen in football. He was as good as any marquee player we see nowadays. We had international players of the highest order in our days. We cannot get decent footballers today. This is the state of football in India , not just Goa,” says Vishwas.

No one knew which foot Bento andrew would use

Two decades or more back, Salgaocar Sports club were playing Cheema Okerie led Mohun Bagan in the semi-finals of the Rovers Cup at the Cooperage in Mumbai. During normal time, Salgaocar let their two goal lead slip. They surrendered their two goal lead in the tie-breaker too and succumbed to Mohun Bagan in the sudden death. The man who squandered their chance in the sudden death was Bento (Endro) Andrew “ I never took a penalty again ,” says Bento .

Bento may have missed the penalty but in football circles of the seventies and eighties he is remembered as the maverick striker who provided intelligent assists to his other colleagues. In those days , being able to shoot with both legs was rare and Bento used this ability not only to penetrate from the left but position the ball on his right so that he could finish with ease.

“ I was advised by Brahmanand during those days to cut in from the left  and shoot with the right or left leg. This tactic fooled many defenders in those days and helped me play as a withdrawn striker for the team,” says Bento.

Salgaocar SC, in those days, had a strike force that consisted of bento, Antonio Joao and Digambar Kamat. From the three, Bento did the feeding to Antonio and Digambar. “Antonio was a bull in those days. He had the speed, the body and a shot that silenced the best. He was Goa’s answer to Bernad Pereira ,” recollects Bento.

Hailing from San Jose de Areal, Bento has been part and parcel of Salgaocar Sports Club since 1974. Prior to that he played to Sao Jose de areal in GFA”s first Division and was part of the Government Multipurpose school team and Guardian Angel High School. Like many players of his age, Bento has no record of the goals he has scored but is remembered to be one of the main goal scoring machines of his team.

“We as players did not change clubs easily in those days and that is why the bonding was good. If I had the ball, Digambar or Antonio Joao knew what I would do next and same was the case if they had the ball. Such was our understanding,” says Bento Andrew.

Bento Andrew represented Goa in nine senior national and played for India in 1983. “The competition was so hard in those days that just getting selected for Goa was a great honour. We had to fight for our place. It is no more the same today,” says Bento.

Andrew was one of those players courted by most clubs in India during his playing days. From Calcutta to Mumbai, they all came knocking, enticing him with offers. “ My parents passed away early. I had a sister who was in the eight standard and I had to look after her. I had a brother too. Going to other clubs was out of the question,” says Bento .

At over six foot Bento stood out because few were able to tell with which leg Bento would have a strike at goal. Many times, he would surprise all by putting his colleague in line of goal instead of having a go himself. Such was his ability to fox opponents.

“ The emphasis during my days was discipline and hard work. I used to practise juggling, ball control and shooting in the ground near my home after team practise. I used to be playing with the ball all the time. The idea was to be able to master the ball,” says Bento.

“We used to practise twice daily and literally play right through the year. It was only in June and July that we had a break due to the monsoons. In August practises used to start and then we were playing all over the country. Apart from the Goa League, the Bandodkar Trophy and Police Cup and Taca Goa we used to participate in tournaments all over India,” reminiscences Bento.

The genius of Mauricio Afonso

The late seventies and early eighties was a time when football players entertained through their mastery in the midfield. It was a period when midfielders dictated the rhythm of the game. The midfielders largely dictated the pace of the game.

Arnold Rodrigues from Salgaocar Sports Club was one such midfielder that comes to mind when the ball is raced back against time. In those days, he was known by many as Inder Singh- such was his repertoire with the ball.

Arnold left Goa all of a sudden and midfield play was left unceremoniously with Dempo Sports Club’s Mauricio Afonso.  That was the era when the flanks were being exploited and the game was constantly switched between the right and left. It was the time when dead ball specialist were being nurtured and Mauricio Afonso was one of the first from the lot.

Mauricio Afonso hails from a hamlet situated between Navelim and Chinchinim. As a youngster he got trained by many Dempo coaches and to most he was an obedient lad ready to learn every trick because, as he said many times, football is his certificate to a happy life. That is why Mauricio tried to make all happy with the way he played.

A lot can be said or written about his exploits on the field. However , there is one that will always be amongst the best because in those days it was the first time a player had rattled Brahamanand  through a set piece.

It was a game between Dempo Sports Club and Salgaocar Sports Club at the Campal stadium. Dempo Sports club were awarded a corner and Mauricio strode forward to take it. That evening his corner hit the horizontal directly and was cleared hastily for another. Three corners and all three times Dempo and Mauricio were denied a goal by the horizontal. It was, for many of us, the first time a player was trying to curl a corner in and the player was Mauricio Afonso. A lot of us saw Brhamnand nervous for the first time too.

That was the genius of Mauricio and if he managed to be a step ahead of his colleagues it was because of the hard work put in by him.

Mauricio Afonso was never and is not the type of man to talk much. He left the talking to his feet and ball. In his peak, Mauricio was poached from Mumbai to Kolkata . He never looked beyond Dempo Sports Club. If football was his life, Dempo SC was his wife and that has remained so till now.

From a great player to an assistant coach to a coach that had the capabilities of reaching greatness  Mauricio has it in him to go the full length .

Mauricio grew up at a time when Indian football was in a pond where the ugly duckling could not be distinguished from the rest. He did play for India many times but a player like him could definitely had done more for the country. It really did not hurt him much because it did not stop him from playing and that was paramount to him.

After retiring as a player, Mauricio worked as assistant coach under many coaches with Dempo SC . There were innumerable days when he alone trained the boys and the coaches would show up on the day of the match. It never really bothered or hurt Mauricio because for him being with the ball and the players was important. In his days, he had learnt how to ceaselessly pass the ball. Now, he was passing what he had learnt.

Mauricio was the type of midfielder who could accelerate or decrease the pace of a game . His understanding of his opponents was so sharp that he could send set Camilo Gonsalves through with a pass that bewildered all. He did not score many goals but he got his teammates to do most of the scoring with his balls.

This was the genius of Mauricio Afonso.

A few years ago, when Dempo Sports Club was relegated to the second division of the I-league , Mauricio took it upon himself as a challenge to get the team back to where he belonged.  He did it easily.

A month ago or so, Mauricio Afonso suffered a stroke. There were days when he looked bad . yet beyond the gloom through his eyes  that opened  popped a ball. A football. Mauricio Afonso has never shied away from responsibilities and as he recovers it is evident he is not going to shy away from a full recovery.

It may take him time. But time is a factor that never worried Mauricio. He was the type to be at the right place, to do the right thing with the ball for himself and his team. This time , football lovers in Goa  will wait for Mauricio Afonso.