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.