Goa's football lover, Noel Lima Leitao passes away

Well known football commentator from Goa, Noel Lima Leitao passed away after reportedly suffering a massive heart attack in his hotel bathroom in Kolkata. He was 51 . Noel was in Kolkata to commentate on the 114th IFA shield matches and had last commentated on the final match at the salt lake stadium in Kolkata. His death has left a large void in the Goan football scenario in the state and has left his friends and Goans at large in a deep sense of anguish.

As per reports appearing in various newspapers, Noel was believed to have suffered a massive heart attack and was found dead in his hotel bathroom on Sunday afternoon after the hotel staff failed to elicit his response either through phone calls or knocks on his door, thereby breaking open the door to find him dead.

A director on the board of Vasco SC, Noel was known to be a jovial figure amongst the football fraternity in Goa and was a known voice on football commentary over various sports television channels.The entire football community in Goa was left numb with his death and visitors poured in at his Vasco residence to offer their condolences. People from all walks of life including politicians, friends, family members and the football community were spotted at the residence of the football loving former treasurer of the Goa football association.

Noel is survived by his wife Nayan tara , four daughters and a Son. Goa has suddenly lost one of its most lovable ambassadors of the game but can take heart form the fact that Noel passed away in the midst of his passion of commentating for the game he loved the most and is so close to the heart of Goans, which is football.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

Goa to show its sporting spirit

Close on the heels of tasting big success by claiming the Santosh trophy by beating arch-rivals Bengal for the first time in a Santosh trophy final, Goans are upbeat  and the Goa government seems to have  taken the moment constructively into its stride to implement a long lost sports policy to make the state one of the leading sport enthusiasts in the country.

In what could be described as a landmark decision, the government of Goa has worked out an ambitious plan wherein sports could be an optional academic subject and the proposal could find implementation from as early as this academic year 2009-2010. If implemented, it could give sports in the state a big fillip and could nurse budding talent to reach to the next level in the sporting arena.

The meeting to this effect was held at the Maquinez place on Tuesday, 16 June 2009 and the decision to make sports an optional academic subject was agreed during this sports policy implementation committee meeting. Sports is therefore expected to be treated on par with other subjects and could get equal weightage in comparison to subjects like mathematics, Geography and History.

However a suggestion to make sports a compulsory subject did not go down well with everyone as some members felt that every child may not find it suitable to actively participate in sports activities.The Chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat was a the helm of the decision to implement the sports policy for Goa where he felt that it would provide the necessary impetus to back the sportspersons and groom them at a very young age.

Also in agreement was the leave of absence to be granted to students who attend national and international duty as part of the sports policy. The above sports policy was gathering dust since 1998 and now could finally see the light of day and could be a pathbreaker for Goa to make a mark in sports both at the national and international level.

Goa beats jinx and Bengal to lift Santosh trophy

India's tiniest state of Goa drove all myths and jinx to dust by pulling off an exciting 4-2 victory against arch-rival Bengal and claimed the national honour by lifting the 63rd National football championship for the Santosh Trophy at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday 14th June 2009. Goa was also awarded the fair play trophy thereby doubling their joy while lifting the championship.

The victory came after a goalless draw consuming 120 minutes of play including extra time thereby driving the result to the fate of penalties where Goa came out trumps beating the Bengal side by a 4-2 scoreline.

The win was special for the Goans side and for the entire state as a whole since it came after six unsuccessful meetings in the final against Bengal which saw the Goan side lift the trophy for the fifth time, having won it three times outright before and once as joint winners with Bengal.

    GOA-BENGAL SANTOSH TROPHY FINAL RECORDS

YEAR	VENUE	WINNER	RUNNERS-UP	RESULT
1978-79	Bengal	Bengal	Goa	1-0
1982-83	Calcutta	Joint winner	Joint winner	0-0;0-0
1995-96	Bengal	Bengal	Goa	2-0
1996-97	Bengal	Bengal	Goa	1-0
1997-98	Bengal	Bengal	Goa	1-0
1998-99	Bengal	Bengal	Goa	5-0
2008-09	Chennai	Goa	Bengal	4-2 (penalties)

A barren 90 minutes of play and  half an hour of extra time failed to find the back of the net for both the teams which eventually had to be decided via the penalty shoot-out.

In the nerve wrecking moments of the shootout, Goa proved their detractors wrong when they scored through Climax Lawrence, Bevan D'Mello, John Dias and Fulgancio Cardozo to emerge victorious, even while the kick of  Nicholas Rodrigues from the penalty spot at the far post was saved by the diving Bengal custodian Subhashis Roy Chowdhury. However the win has been credited largely to the two grand saves made at the goal by none other than the captain of the Goan side Felix D'souza whose heroics throughout the tournament during which he did not concede a single goal have contributed immensely to Goa's great run to the final and also helped to keep their slate clean till the end.

For Bengal, only two players were successful in finding the net when Snehasish Chakraborty and Pachau Lalam puia were on target but Safar Sarkar and Lalkamal Bhowmick shot straight into the hands of Goa keeper Felix D Souza. 

29 times champions Bengal had themselves to blame for the defeat after missing scoring chances  while the Goan side also fumbled with a few opportunities coming their way. Marcus Mascarenhas from Goa and Pachau lalam Puia from the Bengal side were the two most outstanding players on display in the final

Goa coach Mariano Dias was a picture of jubilation when he was lifted in the air by the Goan players after the match in joyous celebrations and he said that he was very relieved to see the Goan side lifting the title after over 120 minutes of a tense battle. The coach had special praise for goalkeeper and captain of the Goan side Felix D'souza for his tremendous feat of not conceding a single Goal in the entire tournament an achievement which was  accomplished only by Goa's famed goalkeeper Brahmanand Sankhwalkar in 1984 when Goa won the Santosh trophy outrightly for the first time by beating Punjab 1-0.

GOA'S OVERALL SANTOSH TROPHY WIN RECORD

YEAR	WINNER	RUNNERS-UP	RESULT
1982-83	Bengal & Goa Joint winners		0-0
1983-84	Goa	Punjab	1-0
1989-90	Goa	Kerala	2-0
2005-06	Goa	Kerala	1-1, 2-0 (extra time)
2008-09	Goa	Bengal	4-2 (penalties)

* Goa has won the trophy 4 times outright, once as joint winners and have been runners-up on seven occassions

The Chief Minister of Goa Mr Digambar Kamat congratulated the Goan team and said that by winning the Santosh title, Goa has once again proved their supremacy in the football arena in the country. The Sports authority of Goa in the meanwhile has announced a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each to the 23 member side while the winners purse of Rs 5 lakh will also be shared among the players. GFA President Mr Joaquim Alemao who was in Chennai to witness the proceedings, announced a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to the players as also Mr Peter Vaz , GFA vice-President and President of Sporting clube who announced a similar amount. A rousing reception awaits the Goan team on their arrival to goa with the prestigious crown of supremacy in Indian football.

Viva Goa!

Goa seeking revenge against Bengal today : Santosh Trophy

The memories of a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Bengal at Chennai 10 years ago are still fresh in the minds of Goans as Goa meet their most toughest opponents of the tournament as yet in the Santosh Trophy final today at Chennai. The match is scheduled to be telecast live by Zee sports and Ten sports and commences at 5.30 pm.

The face off tomorrow will be the seventh occasion when both the teams will lock horns in the finals of the Santosh trophy and simply going by the history and statistics, the Bengal side has the upper hand as they have dismissed the Goan challenge five times while being adjudged as joint winners with Goa just once.

However after that 5-0 win against Goa in the final of 1999 , the Bengal side never won the trophy and will be looking to repeat that feat again today to deny Goa the title once again. For Goa it is a matter of revenge for their humiliating defeat at the hands of Bengal 10 years ago as also their quest of breaking the jinx of winning a Santosh trophy final against the 29 time champions , something which they have never achieved.

However in the current competition there seems to be no clear favourite to win the trophy as both the teams have not been outstanding this particular year. Both the teams will therefore aim to play their best brand of soccer to come up trumps in the contest today.

Bengal have reached the final of the Santosh trophy without losing a single match and their win against Punjab in the quarter final could be considered as their best in the current championship. Since then they have trounced Services in the semifinal with a 2-0 scoreline and are now really pumped up for the final clash with Goa. 

Gouranga Biswas who scored some sparkling Goals against Services is a great talent while their striker PC La-lampuiya is also in excellent form. Also the Bengal goalkeeper Subhashis Roy Choudhury is looking in great nick and came up with a fine show against Services.Raghu Nandy, the Bengal coach is upbeat and said that his boys are in great shape and eager to win the final.

For football crazy Goa , with a player strength that boasts of the likes of Climax Lawrence, Mahesh Gawli, Marcus Mascarenhas, Beevan D'mello, Felix D'Souza and Joaquim Abranches, the squad seems to be a better side on paper.Goa will however miss two of their main players in Freddy Mascarenhas and Branco Cardozo as both of them are nursing injuries and are doubtful for the final. Mariano Dias the Goa coach has exuded confidence that his boys are part of a balanced side and is confident of crossing the final hurdle today and lay Goa's claim to the coveted trophy.

Dempo sells traditional mining biz to Sesa Goa for a whopping 1,750 crore

In an all cash deal, the Dempo Group from Goa sold its most traditionally identified possession and its oldest and most prized asset, its  Goan mining business to a renowned mining company  Sesa Goa for Rs 1,750 crore. The above deal which was clinched and signed on Thursday, was informed to the media at a press conference  by the Dempo Chairman Mr Srinivas Dempo late on Thursday evening. The chairman further informed that the decision to exit the mining business was collectively taken by the Dempo family.

Mr Dempo however informed that the Group was not exiting from the age old mining activities and would continue the same in Sindhudurg and Maharashtra and added that the group was exploring mining resources which could be over 100 million tonnes in other parts of the world to meet the long term demands of its various customers.

Some time ago, the Dempo group had demerged the mining business and investment portfolio from the holding company V.S.Dempo and Co (VSD) to facilitate the way for a new investor which was the earlier plan. However with such an attractive offer from Sesa Goa made to them, they decided to take the exit route.

Sesa Goa is the subsidiary of the Anil Agarwal group  Vedanta Resources which had earlier acquired Sesa Goa by springing a surprise high bid for Mitsui's 51 % stake in the company for $981 million beating the likes of Arcelor Mittal and Aditya Birla group.The acquisition of Sesa Goa had therefore marked the entry of Vedanta into the flourishing iron ore business.

The deal signed by Dempo with Sesa Goa includes all Goan based mining assets, mining leases, mining rights and  includes the supporting logistical infrastructure such as barges, jetties, trans-shippers,and the facilities at the Mormugao port.

Dempo's chairman also informed at the press conference that  although they are exiting the iron ore business in Goa, their mining activities would continue in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Also its other activities such as calcined petroleum coke, pig iron, shipbuilding, food, travel and media would continue unhindered and the money received from this deal would be used to boost the business activities in the state of Goa.

Iron ore is a major raw material in producing steel which is a key ingredient used to manufacture automobiles and white goods. India's ore deposits are considered to be among the largest in the world and it is believed that this Dempo acquisition will consolidate Vedanta's position considerably in this segment.

The rickshaw run celebrations in Goa.

And so after trudging down 4000 kms you would think they were tired in the rickshaw run spring 2009. But hold on. They all had a blast of a party in south Goa at Colva to let their hair down longer and longer after all the hair splitting journey they adventured with .

So nobody missed out on the action to tell all the tales of the rickshaw run from Shillong to Goa and the whole party place was agog with music song and a lot of noise. Beer flowed into the sun drenched souls who made the journey in little less than two weeks while the music gobbled a part of their unbridled attention.

Here are some pictures

 

The rickshaw run traditionally culminates with a game of cricket at the final destination. However , Goa being a soccer crazy place, the loyalites were quickly switched to a game of soccer and the next day followed with a football match against a local Goa based colva team and the soccer-crazies among the rickshaw run participants turned up in the unmistakable rickshaw run jerseys as one unit to put up a brilliant fight and although the final score read, 2-0 in favour of the local team, the match was fought much more evenly and had all the thrills and also the laughs for the folks to remember for a long time to come. Below are some pics.

The rickshaw run will await a send off from Goa to the next destination in India by the Indian winter of September 2009. Till then!

3 Goan clubs among India's top four

It is a matter of great pride for Goa that despite it being the smallest state of the Indian union, it has remained to be the hotbed of Indian football. The latest evidence was strong and clear in the form of the final standings in the just concluded ONGC I-league, the country's premier football tournament which saw three Goan teams emerging among the top four clubs of India.

FINAL STANDINGS OF THE ONGC I-LEAGUE 2009

TEAM	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	P	GD
Churchill Brothers	22	13	7	2	53	23	46	+30
Mohun Bagan	22	13	4	5	30	20	43	+10
Sporting Clube	22	13	4	5	28	20	43	+8
Dempo	22	8	7	7	35	26	31	+9
Mahindra	22	8	7	7	28	22	31	+6
East Bengal	22	7	7	8	31	26	28	+5
Mumbai FC	22	7	7	8	22	27	28	-5
Chirag United	22	6	8	8	20	26	26	-6
JCT	22	6	7	9	19	22	25	-3
Air India	22	5	9	8	21	26	24	-5
Mohammedan spt	22	5	7	10	17	32	22	-15
Vasco	22	2	4	16	14	49	10	-35

As is evident from the above final standings of the league, Churchill brothers , Sporting clube and Dempo are the three Goans clubs claiming the honours in the first four places which is good for Goan football. However on the other side, we do have another Goan side, Vasco sports club who are placed at the bottom of the table and therefore are relegated to the second division along with Mohammedan sporting.

Yesterday Mohun Bagan lost to Mahindra 2-1 to finish runners up while Sporting downed Air India to finish third. Vasco was drubbed by Chirag United 4-1 while JCT, the winners of the inaugural league, escaped relegation while defeating Mumbai FC by a solitary goal.

Its Churchill! Goa exults!

Goa's "Churchill brothers" emerged as the undisputed leaders of the ONGC I-league, being crowned champions after thrashing Bengal's Mohammedan Sporting by a tennis score of 6-2 .

A wait of 12 long agonising years during which Churchill saw the title  within their sniffing distance a couple of times but slipping away in the final hurdle was finally ended when Churchill brothers stamped their name on the trophy after vanquishing the challenge posed by Mohammedan sporting in the most convincing manner.

The winners were richer with a prize purse of Rs 50 lakh while Mohun Bagan had to be content with the runners-up prize of Rs 27 lakh. However more than the prize money was the sense of pride which was visible in the Churchill brothers camp which was absolutely in delirium with the spectacular win and the eventual claim for the coveted trophy.

One had to be either a die hard Mohun Bagan supporter or someone with the most jealous heart to deny Churchill the topmost honour in Indian football, this time around in 2009. And one good look at all the Churchill brothers supporters who came with flags, banners, drums , trumpets and whistles and chanting the victory slogans had absolutely no doubt in their mind about the supremacy of their favourite Goan club.

However all other doubting thomases were also silenced in the first seven minutes of the match when Churchill pleasantly surprised everyone including themselves with the scoring of two goals in quick succession.

The action began in the fifth minute when R Vashun ran like as if he was possessed and created panic inside the Mohammedan sporting defence and while Wasim Feroze tried to hastily clear the ball, he only ended up shooting the ball into his own goal (1-0 Churchill).

Three minutes later, the Sporting citadel shook again. This time goal machine Odafe Okolie got a better of a defender and picked the top corner of the nets with a curl which demonstrated the exceptional talent of the Nigerian ( 2-0 Churchill ).

Churchill went into the breather with a 2-0 lead. Just when the title looked to be a formality, Mohammedan sporting came back with  Mike Okoro leaping high to nod one home leaving a sense of tension and anxiety in the Churchill camp.(2-1 Churchill)

However history was tired of denying the Churchill brothers their much needed title and the alarm bells lasted for only 10 minutes before Felix exchanged a delightful pass with Odafe, avoided onrushing goalkeeper Manas Barua and found the roof of the net for his 12th goal of the competition (3-1 Churchill)

What followed next was absolute celebration time as Churchill willfully found the net another three times through Khan Thang Paite, Odafe Okolie and Thokchom Naoba singh slamming the final nail into the rivals coffin. Mohammedan Sporting's Jothi Kumar, managed to reduce the margin in the last minute for the Bengal Side.

Coach Zoran Djordevic of Churchill was a very delighted man at the end of the match and was seen rejoicing with flags and banners as the match ended. He was also critical of dirty tricks played by jealous rival clubs to deny Churchill the much deserved victory.

With the win, Churchill brothers has finally emerged as the top club of India and it is a big fillip to Goan football and a pride for Goa. However Churchill have now to ensure that they find more talented Goan players to join their ranks and ensure that the Goan club does not resemble a club from Nigeria or the Indian North east.

Goa's Churchill Bros set to create history in I-league

Goa's football crazy public is awaiting with bated breath, to see the final outcome of a long battle for the title of the ONGC I-league -India's premier football tournament, with the winner taking home a   purse of Rs 50 lakh in prize money.

Going into the final round of matches, Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan are tied on 43 points each. However Churchill enjoys a superior goal average which means that the Goan club needs a simple win against lowly placed Mohammedan sporting in their final match today at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda Goa to clinch the title.

The hosts are hot favourites to win the title with punters stacking the odds favourably on them. Besides Churchill brothers have an impeccable home record with the Nigerian Odafe Okolie who is in their ranks in sparkling from throughout the league.

Churchill Brothers have one of the most enviable home record in the I-league as they have not lost to an outstation team since 2002 and punters therefore believe that the Goan side is simply unstoppable at the moment.

Churchill Brothers' coach Zoran Djordjevic is brimming with confidence to put it across Mohammedan Sporting today . While Churchill needs a simple victory against Mohammedan sporting today, Mohun bagan who play Mahindra United have three of their key players unavailable and need to win by a margin of 16 goals to wrest the title from Churchills grasp.

For over 13 years since the start of the National football league in 1996, the Varca based Churchill brothers has been one of the better sides and entertainers to the core besides being consistent.However the league title has somehow eluded them.

Churchill have faltered in the final round on three occasions. In the year 1996-97 Churchill came precariously close but lost to Indian bank in the final hurdle while in 2000 Churchill made a promising start but were outpaced by East Bengal in an extremely tight match while in 2002 controversies haunted the finish.

However this time around the fans of the club will hope that with this final outing today, the club will put to rest all doubts about their ability to clinch the title and lay its claim on it at last.

 

Political wrestling robs Goa of football academy

The much touted state of the art academy for football which was to be set up in Goa is on its way out. The All India Football Federation ( AIFF) and Bharti Enterprises have finally given their verdict by dropping all plans of setting up the ambitious 100 crore project in Goa due to the prolonged delay of the state government of Goa in acquiring land for the project.

Responding that the AIFF cannot wait forever for the state government of Goa, to act on the acquiring and transfer of the land to the academy, the AIFF general secretary indicated that the  proposal has been put off and expressed his disappointment over Goa's loss in setting up the academy.

While no decision about the alternative venue for the academy has been made, sources indicate that Haryana is the most likely to benefit out of Goa's loss.

The academy had been cleared by the state cabinet and suitable land was identified in Cuncolim, but the housing Ministry is reported to be refusing to part with the 1.26 sq mt of land keeping the entire process at a standstill.

The project which was to begin last march ran into problems after two powerful Goan politicians locked horns and the tussle between the two ministers turned into a war of words leading to an inordinate delay in the clearance. While Mr Micky Pacheco claimed that the land in question belonged to his department, he accused Mr Joaquim Alemao GFA president and minister for Urban development of illegally transferring the land for the academy.

The end result is that in the political muddle of a couple of men, Goa has lost the golden opportunity of a football academy which would have nurtured budding talent in Goa to fructify into football greats for the state. It is a shame that we lost this due to the sleazy politicking of a select few.

Goa's romance with football

A good game of football is sometimes all that a Goan would wish for to make his day. The tiniest state in the Indian union, Goa is a force to reckon with on the national level in the field of football with players  from the state donning national colours regularly.

Goa's love with football seems to be a natural bond as if it runs very deeply in the Goan blood. The very mention of a soccer game can get droves inside the stadium at Fatorda with people from all over the state of Goa flocking to watch the excitement with bated breath. Lusty cheering and rejoicing at the scoring of a goal is something that Goans have learnt to excel in, over the years.

The love of football has essentially descended from Goa's colonial rule of the Portuguese. Portugal which is passionate about football is to be commended for leaving a lasting legacy of soccer on Goans to remain with us for the rest of our lives. 

So besides large states such as Bengal, Punjab and Kerala are our only worthy competitors in football, Goa's domination of the sport is much more credible given the small size of our state as also fewer facilities to hone our soccer skills.

Goa is the home of prestigious clubs which have made the state proud and have also pocketed every football championship in the country including the National football league. Goa is therefore more synonymous with names such as Dempo sports club, Salgaocars, Sporting Clube De Goa, Vasco sports Club, Churchill Brothers among others who have kept the Goan flag flying high.

No sport is as important to Goans as football is and therefore the sustenance of these clubs has been beyond economic reasons. In fact unlike major soccer clubs  in the western countries or even in the rest of India, either make a profit out of the game through their brand image and merchandising of their products or are showcasing their corporate image for the sake of publicity, Goa is in a different league altogether.

The prime reason why football remains to be a strong reason for Goan clubs to pursue, is merely passion for the game. The hunger and place of pride in Goan hearts for football is the sole motivating factor for all clubs in Goa to survive modern times. Despite the sport draining the resources of the club owners, football following has gone from strength to strength thereby egging these clubs to remain in force despite all odds.

It is no wonder that cricket in Goa is a secondary sport despite it being such a craze in the rest of India. For Goans it simply seems that football is a more dominant sport with a far larger following . This has been the reason why the government of Goa has declared football to be the official sport of Goa.

However the standard of football needs to be upgraded desperately. The world stage is a different arena and Goans just like the rest of India are found wanting on that stage. Goa has to therefore nurture and groom talent at an early stage and employ the services of experts from the international field to take Goan and Indian football to a new level. Enough time has been lost in playing football in fields and open grasslands. India has made strides in almost all fields for the world to take notice. It is high time, that Goan football and Indian soccer finds its own place under the sun.