MARGAO
The Curtorim village has been a cradle of footballers, having produced champions like Antonio Rebello, Armando Colaco, late Lepoldo Fernandes, Cyril Rodrigues, Roy Baretto, Roberto Fernandes Jessel Carneiro, Alex Rebello, Roque Carneiro, Maria Rebello, Michel Castanha (international woman footballer), who went on to win for the State and the country in the sport.
Many Curtorkars, with its rich sports tradition, have contributed enormously to the Goan and Indian sports like top coach Armando Colaco and FIFA Referee Assessor (women) Maria Rebello. The village has produced many sportspersons who have brought laurels to the country, State and the village with their stupendous performance.
The latest footballer coming out of the village, who has grabbed the spotlight is Leewan Castanha, who is donning the India colours, representing the country at the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Kuwait.
Leewan began his youth career with Indian Super League (ISL) outfit FC Goa at the age of 11 and has played in a number of different age group tournaments for the Gaurs. He was part of FC Goa's U-14 team in the 2015-16 season. With him in the side, FC Goa finished runners-up in GFA U-14 league. He was promoted to the U-16 set up in the 2017-18 season. Leewan's brilliant performance helped the young Gaurs qualify for the second round of U-15 I-League last season.
"He has time and again shown maturity beyond his years and this really doesn't take us by surprise. He has been playing in the U-16s for us even though he is still eligible for the U-14s. He joined us in 2015 when the youth programme kicked off and has progressed up the ranks," an FC Goa official said.
“I am extremely excited. It’s a dream come true for me,” Leewan told The Goan. “It was not an overnight dream for me. In fact, playing for India has been a dream for a long time. I used to daydream a lot about this day. It’s an opportunity for me to show my skills,” Castana added.
Castana started his junior international career in in the AFC under-16 championship under the guidance of Surendra Pandya in Dubai. At the domestic front, he joined the Indian Arrows, the AIFF's developmental side.
“I want to share my experience as I have played with the junior national team. I want to explore myself here. I have played international matches and they are very tough,” The Curtorim-born defender maintained.
"Playing for FC Goa was very exciting. It was like a dream come true for me. Playing under various coaches was a good experience. I respect my coaches; every coach has their own tactics and playing style. I want to do well under every coach I play in my career,” said Castanha. “I am happy at FC Goa developmental side but I would to like to play in the ISL. I hope I will receive offers from ISL clubs in the future. My aim is to play for India's senior side,” he signed off.
