Where Esperanto failed,
the game of foot-ball succeeded. In the recently concluded ISL soccer tournament
Goans forgot their differences and followed with deep reverence the game of
soccer unitedly with the slogan “FORCA
GOA”. Every Goan understood the other Goan thru soccer.
The greatest
achievement of ISL in Goa was the sense of oneness it created into the minds and hearts of the Goans. The
loss of FC Goa no doubt was a shocking but credit must go to Chennai for inflicting
this loss on Goa by playing the right mode of soccer at the right time. A team leading by one goal till 2 minutes
before the final whistle cannot hold its
opponents for 2 minutes only has no right to win the match. As a footballer of caliber during my younger
days I suggest FC Goa team members, management, followers and fans to accept
this otherwise unacceptable defeat sportingly.
FC Goa lacked dependable
defense since Lucio and Gragory lacked their previous physical efficiency and
mental alertness. FC Goa also lacked a midfield maestro to
orchestrate all the moves cleverly and in the forward line FC Goa lacked a
first time finishers specially from the box. Keeping the ball
on one’s feet for longer period is a big
mistake our forwards committed instead of releasing the powerful footer in
Portuguese Eusebian style.
As pointed out by Zico,
allowing only six Indian players to
represent each team is a mistake because it does not help the promotion of
local talent instead it shadows local talent from developing. In Italy in the Seria A division only 2
foreign players are allowed per team. This was done by Italian soccer authority
to give impetus to the local soccer talent in greater number.
The last fiasco between Elano and Salgaocar was a black mark
on the otherwise successfully organized this year’s edition. I don’t say Elano
was innocent but in the absence of his version of what provoked him to act thus,
I am unable to inflict the whole blame on him. Since a long time now that I am
watching him on the field, he looks to be a decent man unlikely to act rough. By listening to one side of the story only and
blaming him is not correct though what he did was wrong.
A.Veronica Fernandes,
Candolim, Goa.
Tel:7507394349.
