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.
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