After a long gap of 21 years, Goa is set to host the prestigious
Santosh Trophy championships with the
final round slated to be held from March 12 to 26.
There is every chance that the hosts could regain
their lost glory at the Santosh nationals as playing at
home could be a big advantage. It has been quite a while since
Goa last inscribed its name on the coveted Santosh silverware.
The State’s recent success in Santosh Nationals dates back to
almost a decade ago when Mariano Dias had orchestrated a
victorious campaign in the 2008-09 season with a memorable
triumph over heavyweights and arch-rivals West Bengal. The
pulsating final in Chennai saw Goa prevailing 4-2 on penalties,
reminiscent of their first triumph in Santosh when Goa shared
the trophy with hosts Bengal in 1982-83 following a goalless
draw. Since 2008-09, Goa has failed to bring home the trophy
with exits at various stages of their succeeding editions. Last
year, Goa did come close to entering the finals but lost 0-1 in
the semi-finals to defending champions
Services, who have emerged
a strong force with four titles in the
previous five editions. Having performed
exceedingly well in the qualifying
round this season in Madhya
Pradesh, Goa’s build-up to the final
round under head coach Mateus
Costa looks impressive. Goa’s tactical
approach to counter their opponents in the qualifiers paid
dividends and the results were more than impressive. The team
played assertive football and mixed defense with aggression to
demolish Daman & Diu and hosts MP 8-0 and 4-0 respectively
to make their intentions clear for the final round.
But what is heartening is the fact that it is the youth players
who have been delivering the goods at Santosh nationals
as it is now mandatory to field three U-20 players in the playing
eleven with five being part of the 20-member squad. The State
coach is quite confident of Goa reaching the semis despite the
fact that they are placed in a tough group comprising title-holders
Services, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Chandigarh. Even
assistant coach Norbert Gonsalves, who was at the helm of
Goa’s 2004 campaign believes that Santosh trophy is no longer
entirely a seniors’ event as rule change has compelled teams
to field a good mix of youth and experience with seniors guiding
the juniors like mentors. Both Costa and Gonsalves are of
the firm opinion that Goa stands a very good chance to regain
the Santosh crown. Their claims are reasonable: the fact that
Goa is playing on home soil keeps them in good stead to stay
confident and build upon their impressive performance in the
qualifying round.
