Before U-17 kick-off, Goans ask: Where are our players

Panaji: It is the state sport and considered to be a religion, but when the probables for the U-17 World Cup were picked, Goan football players were conspicuous by their absence. A state, which boasts of some of the best football players who represented the country and has a dedicated council with an annual budget of Rs 5 crore, has gone unrepresented in the U-17 team.

"Everyone told me Goa is one of the best places to find players... but look (at the team), there are zero players (from Goa)," India's U-17 coach Luis Norton de Matos told TOI in an interview last week.

Luis is not the only one who is surprised. The absence of any Goan players in the Indian U-17 team has been a talking point for more than a year now. And like Luis, many have found it hard to digest that the state couldn't produce a single player good enough to be among the 21 best players, or even the 35, who were provisionally registered in this age-group.

"They could have had a selection here. In each state there must be a selection and the national coach must watch the players. Now, it's impossible. I need six weeks to know a player," said the Portuguese coach.

Luis took charge of the Indian team just seven months ago and won't know much of what transpired during the time when Nicolai Adam was in charge. The German coach, along with his assistant Etibar Ibrahimov, toured the country, conducted several trials but couldn't find anyone from Goa.

"We had shortlisted 23 players from an open trial, attended by approximately 300 players from Goa. But when the final trial was held, only one player got the nod," said one spotter, a former international, who was entrusted with the responsibility.

The problem was the 23 shortlisted players were watched by India assistant coach Etibar, while Nicolai chose to give it a miss. Worse still, the player which the spotters were confident would break into the side—Stanley Fernandes—never got a chance. Stanley, a promising striker, is now with Dempo juniors and will be promoted to the senior team in the next few weeks.

Defender Warren Fernandes was another one who came close to breaking into the squad, but after weeks of training he was eventually released.

"Somehow, the previous set-up had an aversion to Goan players despite the AIFF Academy being based here for years," alleged one senior Goa Football Association official.

The AIFF's junior academies had several Goan players, many of whom were part of India's under-14 and under-16 teams. During the time of technical director Rob Baan and director of academies Scott O'Donnell, at least four players were in contention for a place in the World Cup squad.

Midfielders Ribhav Sardesai and Amay Morajkar, defender Flan Gomes and goalkeeper Antonio Dylan D'Silva were all India regulars in U-14 tournaments, but eventually fell by the wayside. Except for goalkeeper Dylan, whose parents got him out of the academy, the others were dropped.

"It's not easy spotting the best players. There were a few Minerva players who I liked and I included them among the probables. I saw Tata FA players and gave them a chance too. I know quality exists but the problems (of selection) are the same like in Portugal," said Luis.

Too bad for Goa, the Portuguese coach didn't step on the soil of his great grandfather earlier.