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Past stars struck

The win over Cameroon excited football fans all over Goa and The Goan spoke to some of the stars who once played the beautiful game for the country and on the fields of Goa.

Bruno Coutinho

The win over a second string Cameroon team was a greatachievement. The team he said should sustain this momentum. It is vital theyplay against teams like Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait instead of teams inEurope. Playing against these teams would improve the standards. With regardsto the new strategy adopted by the coach he said it was something India wouldhave to learn to adopt and the more practice the team played the better theywould get.

A start he said was made, it was time now to work and moveup.

Climax  Lawrence

The win is a great achievement especially against a teamthat is higher ranked. The tactics adopted is very good by the new coach. Theshort passing game is something we are comfortable with unlike the long ballstyle of Bob Houghton. We have to now sustain this and keep playing friendlies.We need to focus on qualifying for the world cup. It should either be 2018 or2022. We have to build or strength and stamina. There are goan boys like Romeowho can play in the national team in the future. The future is certainlybright.

Brahmanand Sankhwalkar 

The team showed plenty of fight in the match. For a teamthat is ranked 169 it was a credible performance. I like the coach’s emphasison short passing, which we are comfortable with. We need to find replacementsfor Vijayan, Bruno and Bhutia to really make a mark. Chhetri is now 27 and weneed backups.  With the several academiesin place like the Manchester United academy we should be able to findsomeone.    

Mahesh Gawli

The team showed courage and the fact that a team ranked169 could do this against a team ranked over a hundred places above iscommendable. I like the style the team adopted. The short passing is what Ialways prefer. I think we are on the right track and this team should achievemore in the future.   

Henry Britto

It was a great performance considering our standard thesedays. It was not the first team of Cameroon but it was a good team. We have notgrown as a team because we have not developed our youth system. Indian footballis like a building without a foundation. What has happened in the past hashappened and we should now look at sorting our systems. This victory is greatbut we have to work to take the country’s football team forward. Everyone hasgone ahead and we are stuck in the same place.

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Bringing the cup to Goa

They returned home heroes and cup winners. For the four Goa based players who lifted the Nehru Cup with India, the success looks to be the start of something beautiful for Indian football

Ajit John / The Goan
Published Sep 6, 2012, 1:33 PM IST
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Bringing the cup to Goa

When Thierry Makon struck the right post, he gave Indianfootball a much needed boost.  Thehat-trick of wins in the Nehru cup could not have come at a better time.  It was a great start to the Wim Kovermanregime.  For four teammates who play inthe state, the final was a test of their character as fortunes fluctuated everyminute. Francis Fernandes, midfield star in the team felt they hadnothing to lose and everything to gain. He said the coach had made it…

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