AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
Three years back Romeo Fernandes was selected by Dempo SC for what could have been a path breaking step for football in India. He was picked up to be trained and later play for Brazilian club Atletico Paranaense and thereafter move freely in the football world.
Things did not happen as planned and Romeo preferred to return citing his urge to play for his country. The truth is that Romeo has not played for India after his return.
Romeo must have been twenty three when he left. He still needed a lot of polishing to be done then. He had under Brazilian coach Zico grown up to be the star of FC Goa along with MandarRao Desai. And, both have gone different ways ever since.
Romeo, in my opinion, was young when he was sent to Brazil –mentally and physically. He had claimed at that time that he was returning because he was not getting playing time in Brazil and hence would not get a chance to play for his country.
If I am not wrong, Romeo was never sent to Brazil as a formatted player but as a player who had the talent to format himself professionally. Obviously, life in Brazil became difficult to bear and Romeo thought of home sweet home. This is the attitude of most youngsters.
Romeo returned and continued with his club and was selected for the India camp by Stephen Constantine along with Mandar. Something happened and both did not report to the camp. This happened around the time FC Goa was going through the ISL fracas. I never got to meet the players to understand what happened but one thing is clear: the two have never been selected for an India camp with Stephen Constantine as the coach.
Back to Romeo
I always wonder what Romeo would have been had he stayed a little longer in Brazil and allowed them to polish him. After all, Romeo was spotted by Zico and Atletico Paranense was the club selected by Zico for him.
Romeo showed good instincts as a player through Zico. When Zico was away, the child in Romeo was at play. He was a different entity on the field and continues to be so even today –though it must be said the Juliet’s keep screaming for him on the field.
I saw Romeo play for Delhi Dynamos on television a few times and this is one memory that stuck: Delhi was winning by a solitary goal and the ball was laid for Romeo at the half way mark. Romeo ran with the ball and instead of keeping his track forward, turned and gave a long back pass towards his own half, to one of his colleagues. The ball was intercepted by one of his opponents and resulted in an equaliser being scored. I did not see Romeo playing for his team for a while.
Back to Mandar
Mandar moved from Dempo to Kolkata and finally settled in Bengaluru FC before he was picked by FC Goa. Like Romeo, Mandar had a different tang with Zico. His game did develop with the various coaches he was under in India and had a big role to play in Dempo Sports Club’s promotion from the Second Division of the I-League to the First. He showed a lot of promise during this tenure and even more when he was with Zico in FC Goa.
Mandar appeared to have switched himself off in ISL 4. He took the ball forward; tried shots at goals; had his feet on assists but the essence of Mandar was missing. His ruthless ability to break defenses appeared to have waned. He appeared to be playing with his legs and not his legs and mind. This was not a phenomenon that happened once or twice but on most times and scoring two goals in eighteen matches is a stat every player would like to hide.
Football has proved time and again that great players are those who show skill and intelligence. Great players are those who use their mind more and it is the game that goes on in a player’s mind that makes football beautiful – beauty is in the brain, I believe.
I have brought Romeo and Mandar into context because a month back I was told that the two would never get a nod for India because Stephen has still not forgotten what they did to him. I do not want to believe it is true and have no reason to believe so , atleast for now, because the two have really not played well enough to expect a call up for national selections. They are still miles to go but that does not mean they cannot gallop their way in.
Now Brandon
Compared to the two, I think Brandon Fernandes stands a better chance because he uses the brain more and more vigorously. Brandon may have not scored for FC Goa. However, he has shown he is intelligent and if he can keep injuries at bay , he may realise that he is on a short cut to the national selection circuit.
Brandon has been smart with FC Goa but has also been equally hesitant. There have been times when he appeared not sure of what to do and ended up misfiring for himself and the team. Also, he played in a setup where the main course was decided and the desserts were used as decorative value.
Brandon is good with dead balls, reads the game and minds of his colleagues and normally shafts himself fooling his opponents with his unexpected lobs. Brandon thinks a lot and that makes him stand out as a player. His football is more purposeful when it is used proactively. He could end up being a good box to box player.
Brandon’s biggest headache is his ability to keep himself away from injury. Not that he is tripped because he is good or that he falls because he does not see where he is running. Brandon needs to be with someone who will be able to physically develop him as a strong player. Brandon needs a person who will cultivate the strength in him, to keep injury away.
This is the first ISL season wherein Brandon has been given so much time to play. It can well be said this is his first season in ISL because he hardly got a chance to play when he was with Mumbai City FC.
Brandon has the ability to develop into a good central midfielder and he has Lenny Rodrigues now to look up to. Brandon shows glimpses of Mauricio Afonso .
Romeo and Mandar have often shown that they have the ability and skill to take the ball forward through the flanks, weave past opponent and even fox goalkeepers with their shots. But that is not all that is expected in football. It is the ability of a player to shine when nothing seems to be working for his team that makes him stand out.
It is in such time that chants of Romeo and Mandar ricocheted in the stands. The stands may have gone silent now. It is this silence that should awaken Mandar and Romeo from their slumber to do some thinking.
After all, Zico did not spot something in them for nothing. If you did it before for Zico, do it for yourselves now.