MARGAO
Curtorim Village has been the cradle of footballers having produced champions like late Antonio Rebello, Armando Colaco, Roberto Fernandes, late Leopoldo Fernandes, Cyril Rodrigues, Roy Baretto, Alex Rebello and Roque Carneiro and Maria Rebello who went on to win laurels for the state and country in football.
The latest footballer coming out of the village, who has grabbed the spotlight is Leewan Castanha, right wing back who is donning the State colours in the on going 77th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy in Arunachal Pradesh. Castanha has also donned National colours at the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Kuwait.
Leewan began his youth career with 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.
"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," Castanha said.
Castanha started his junior international career in in the AFC U-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.
When asked about the team's performance of Santosh Trophy campaign, Castanha stated, "Performance wise, I feel each team member gave their 100%, the team management was motivating and encouraged us throughout this campaign. On one level, I could call this campaign a successful one since we qualified and at the same time we need to work on our potential to achieve our target," explained Leewan.
Castanha had previously played under coach Mahesh Gawli at Indian Arrows and U-16 national team but this was the first time for the state team. When asked about his experience, Castanha said, “We all consider playing under coach Mahesh Gawli a great honour and privilege as he is a football legend. As a coach he is very calm and professional and understands every player personally, he ensures we bring out the best in us to reach the highest level.”
Castanha's words give a glimpse of the unity and team spirit that the Goa team possessed during the tournament. His dedication to improving his performance and the team’s potential to achieve their goal is a positive sign for their future campaigns. The support of the head coach Charles Dias made the tournament a memorable one for Castanha and the team as well.
"It has been an astonishing experience so far with the team. The sheer number of things that we have learned during the Santosh Trophy I never thought I would be learning so many things,” Castanha said.
“We have learned a lot of new techniques and skills, and we also learned a lot about tactics and game awareness that helps us play so well,” he said. “I am thankful to God that we have such a good coaching staff and the best teammates that one could want. It’s really like a family here.”
When asked about his own individual performance, Castanha stated, “Under the given circumstances, I gave my best although I feel I can do better. As this is a team game," added Castanha.
“I was always curious about football, when I saw the older boys in my locality play the game. The more I began to play, the more curious I got about the game, and I started watching it on TV too. I found Lionel Messi as an idol, and take motivation from his journey in football. The hardships he’s faced early on, and the way he keeps working hard even to this day, after winning almost everything is extremely inspirational for me,” Castanha concluded.
