GFA Awards Night: Socorro gets Lifetime Achievement Award; Cia, Mark Players of the Year

Panaji: Socorro Coutinho walked gingerly towards the stage, paused for a moment when he had climbed the five steps and then collected his award at the hands of the sports minister Govind Gaude.
The crowd cheered, wholeheartedly, Gaude even gave a joyous thumbs up, and one of Goa’s unsung football heroes smiled.
Unlike many Goan footballers, Coutinho may have never had the chance to represent India, but it’s easy to understand why the Goa Football Association (GFA) chose him as the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The former Dempo defender had a stellar career, as player and coach, but what really made him stand head and shoulders above the rest is his record of representing Goa at the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy for 15 years in a row from 1966 to 1980.
Whoever the coach may have been, Coutinho was an automatic choice for the left-back position for club and state during a career that started with Mocidade de Colva in 1959 and ended with Dempo (1982), with stints at Shantilal Sports Club and Sesa Goa.
Coutinho’s career was full of trophies and respect, and now he has the fitting honour of being GFA’s first lifetime achievement awardee.
“It feels good that my career as player and coach got recognised by GFA,” Coutinho told TOI at the Taleigao Community Hall on Saturday. “Whatever I did was always with love. Hatred of any kind doesn’t lead us anywhere.”
Winner of the Jivbadada Kerkar award, Goa’s highest recognition for sports, Coutinho was also an unanimous choice for Goa’s All Star XI (1959-2009), selected by the GFA while celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Coutinho, 81, was accompanied by his son Revelino. He works in Cayman Islands, but whenever he returns home and sits at the dining table, the talk almost always surrounds football. And one man remains a constant: Cyril Ferrao.
“He’s the one who made me what I am,” said Coutinho. “Cyril Ferrao will always remain the best coach that Goa has produced till date. He had his favourites. I was one of them, and the others were Nicholas Pereira, Felix Barreto and Felix Afonso (all playing together at Dempo).”
Coutinho also coached the Goa side that won the Junior Nationals in 1980.
Coutinho was the cynosure of all eyes during the Awards Night where GFA not just handed individual honours for the year but also cleared the four-year backlog of trophies.
“My dream last October was of a vibrant, robust and professional GFA, a dream of taking our state sport to greater heights, a dream of getting back Goa's glory days and a dream of reincarnating Goa as the powerhouse of Indian football. My dream has not been fulfilled yet, but I am happy to say that the first of four chapters has been completed and we are on the right track,” said GFA president Caetano Fernandes.
The Awards Night saw GFA rewarding the best in the business with Churchill Bros’ Cia Almeida being named the best woman’s player and Mark Carvalho of Salgaocar FC winning the Men's Player of the Year award.
Samir Naik, who guided Dempo SC to the Goa Pro League title, was named as the best coach.
AWARDS
Player of the Year U-13 div 1: Messi Colaco (FC Goa); Player of the Year U-13 div 2: Aryan Lingudkar (Super Goans); Player of the Year girls U-14: Pearl Fernandes (Compassion FC); Player of the Year U-15 div 1: Mildroy Menezes (FC Goa); Player of the Year U-15 div 2: Jonathan Silva (CAC Cansaulim); Player of the Year U-18 div 1: Asmon Viegas (Dempo SC); Player of the Year U-18 div 2: Samuel Peixoto (Snows FA); Player of the Year U-20 Taca Goa: Bryson Pereira (FC Goa); Best Referee: Deepraj Sangelkar; Best Assistant Referee: Raja Bir; Best Coach: Samir Naik; Special Achievement Award: Maria Rebello, Dr. Fenton De Souza; Lifetime Achievement Award: Socorro Coutinho; Women's Player of the Year: Cia Ryzella Almeida (Churchill Bros); Men's Player of the Year: Mark Carvalho (Salgaocar FC); Team of the Year: Chapora Yuvak Sangh.