When Goa had a ball

The 27th Alchemist Federation Cup came to a close at the Nehru Stadium in Goa on Sunday. This time, apart from football crazy Goans, fans from across the country got to see their heroes up close and personal, courtesy live telecast on Zee Sports. The last 10 days have produced some wonderful memories of drama, pain, action, glamour and triumph. Ankita Pandey does a recap of what made this event an affair to remember

Viva Goa: The Federation Cup came to Goa after a long wait of 10 years. The last time was in 1994, which Mohun Bagan won beating Salgaocar 3-0. The carnival atmosphere added colour and excitement to the tournament. When Goa teams took to the grounds, it was frenzy in the stands. Fans with painted faces, flags, banners cried hoarse for their teams. Without all the noise and fan support, the tournament wouldn’t have been the same.

Zeebras: Zee Sports came up with an interesting idea of introducing cheer leaders, a la Laker girls, to add some glamour. Dancing to the tunes of Brazil and Let’s get loud, the Zeebras in their stripes were a huge success. The lovely ladies cheered every goal, provided half-time entertainment and well…honed their football skills. Nobody was complaining.

Star cast and crew: Zee Sports wanted to bring Indian football back to the viewers, bigger and better than they’ve ever had. So the preparations for the event were gargantuan. A twelve camera set-up was used on the ground to catch all the action. A Malaysian director and South African sound recordists were called to make the event of an international standard. Star commentary team of John Helm and former England international Russell Osman were flown in as well — in all, an unprecedented effort in Indian football.

Dempo ousted: On the first day of the tournament, defending champions and National Football League (NFL) winners, Dempo Sports Club, were knocked out by underdogs Hindustan Aeronauticals Limited (HAL) 2-1. No such problems emerged for East Bengal who outplayed Air India 3-1.

Bengal tragedy: It started with Tollygunge Agragami, who lost 2-3 to Churchill Brothers in the pre-quarterfinals. Mohammedan Sporting and Mohun Bagan followed suit losing to Fransa-Pax and Vasco Sports Club. East Bengal (EB) was the only team from Bengal to make it to the quarter-final stage. With EB’s 9 -10 loss to Churchill Brothers in the tie-breaker, there was no Bengali team in the semi-final of the Federation. This was only the second time in the history of Federation Cup that such a scenario occurred. The first time was in 1991.

Goa rejoices: While Bengal mourned, Goa celebrated like never before. Except Dempo’s first day debacle, everything was falling in to place for the hosts. Five of the six Goan teams participating made it to the quarter-finals. Three moved to the semi-finals (Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa), with Mumbai’s Mahindra United being the only non-Goa team.

Incidents and injuries: Unlike last year’s tournament in Bangalore, where Dempo’s Cristiano Junior died after a collision with Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Subrata Paul, this year’s event wasn’t marred by any such tragic event. Only major injury was to Salgaocar captain Remus Gomes who was carried off the field in an ambulance after a collision, but recovered to be back three days later. However, the pre-quarterfinal clash between Fransa-Pax and Mohammedan Sporting ended in an ugly fight which resulted in the suspension of Sporting captain Suleh Musah till further notice and Mark Mascarenhas, Fransa goalkeeper, for two matches.

Referee trouble: When one is playing to win the second most prestigious club competition in the country, tempers are bound to run wild. The men in the hot seat, the referees. came under the scanner more than once for their performance on the field. A Arjunan, the referee in the match between Fransa and Mohammedan Sporting, was barred from taking further part in the competition after he did not take action against Suleh Musah of Sporting. Musah had head-butted a player and later charged towards the stands with the intention of assaulting Fransa president Mickkey Pacheco.

AT A GLANCE

Pre-quarterfinals

October 19
Hindustan Aeronauticals Limited (HAL) 2 bt Dempo Sports Club 1
East Bengal 3 beat Air India 1

October 20
Mahindra United 1 bt JCT Mills 0
Churchill Brothers  3 bt Tollygunge Agramani 2

October 21
Sporting Clube de Goa 2 bt State Bank of Travancore (SBT) 1
Fransa-Pax 2 bt Mohammedan Sporting 1

October 22
Salgaocar Sports Club 3 bt Punjab Police 1
Vasco Sports Club 6 bt Mohun Bagan 5 (Tie-breaker after a goalless draw)

Quarterfinals

October 23
Mahindra United 4 bt HAL 2
Churchill Brothers 10 bt East Bengal 9 (tie-breaker after a goalless draw)

October 24
Sporting Clube de Goa 4 bt Fransa-Pax 1

October 25   
Salgaocar 3 bt Vasco Sports Club 1

Semi-finals

Mahindra United 4 bt Churchill Brothers 1
Sporting Clube de Goa 6 bt Salgaocar SC 5 (1-1 in regulation time, 5-4 in tie-breaker)

Third-fourth place
Churchill Brothers 5 bt Salgaocar SC 0

Final
Mahindra United vs Sporting Clube de Goa