PANAJI
Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) has congratulated its former trainee Nathan Rodrigues for joining Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC.
The 19-year-old hails from Arambol and had trained at the GFDC centre in the village. Later he was scouted by Reliance Foundation Young Champs and developed his game at the top Indian football academy.
GFDC chairman Brahmanand Shankhwalkar expressed happiness over Nathan's signing for the Mumbai club. "It is indeed is a proud moment for GFDC. Nathan is a well-developed footballer, and I wish him all the best for his innings with Mumbai City FC. We hope to see his meteoric rise in Indian football. His hard work and sacrifice should continue with the same discipline when he is playing in the top tier of Indian football," said Shankwalkar.
Nathan's parents, Sylvester and Anunciasao Rodrigues (Ansu), are extremely happy. "I am happy that he will now be playing in the ISL. At the age of seven, Nathan started playing for the school team. At GFDC Arambol he trained four years and later went on to join the GFDC Academy where he trained for another three years. Later he was picked up by the Reliance Foundation where he spent four years training. He had a dream and wanted to play for an ISL club and finally, his dream was fulfilled. As his mother, I am happy and extremely proud of his achievement. I hope to see him play for India one day,” said Nathan's mother Ansu.
The GFDC coaches at the Arambol centre during Nathan's training period were Dietmar Fernandes and Jason Fernandes and the centre head was Jeronimo Fernandes. During his Residential Academy tenure, the technical team comprised Derryl D'Souza, Robert Fernandes, Martin Fernandes, Harshad Zalmi, Pooja Gaonkar, and Franklyn Roncon.
Also, two other GFDC trainees Harsh Patre and Prachit Gaonkar have made it to the U-20 and U-16 Indian sides respectively.
