BY TONI RODRIGUES

MARGAO: For Alfred Fernandes this is the biggest challenge yet of his football career, it can be both demanding and tricky but the affable former Sesa Goa midfielder is ready for the test.

Alfred has been promoted from the junior ranks to be in charge of the pro league team of Churchill Bros. A move designed by the Churchill Bros management to provide an opportunity for their coaching staff to excel on a higher level.

Alfred has been with the country’s only family owned club for more than four years and after impressing all as part of the youth teams and also having worked as a goalkeeper coach with the senior team, the management gave the Benaulim based coach a feeler at the end of the season last year about his new coaching assignment. So the news did not came as a shocker for him, he says, "I was told about it last season that there will be two teams, and I will have to take up the pro league team, I was again briefed about it at the start of the season that I’ll have to take charge so it’s not entirely surprising. It is a measured elevation for me and I am really grateful to my management for reposing faith in my abilities. I had the knowledge of each and every player, I know the core of the team and I’ll give my best to justify my promotion, you cannot ask for a better opportunity than this," says Alfred thrilled with the new responsibilities.

Alfred still has not yet stopped playing football; he is a regular for the veteran competition and also plays for the local village clubs. But it is coaching that remains a priority and he’s not entirely a fresh bud on the scene having gained a promotion for the Young Strikers club of Benaulim for the first division league besides training the team for two years in that division but the new job is a totally challenging situation. He says, "Sometimes you have to take on these challenges and prove your mettle, when you accept challenges there will be obstacles but it can not be a hindrance. You have to work hard to overcome those barriers and hopefully I expect some luck to favor me, the luck factor had proved decisive many times. You need blessings and luck in equal terms but for me winning success for the team is the focal obligation," said Alfred elaborating how luck deserted his team in the closing stages of the opening fixture of the pro league against Vasco SC at the Tilak stadium.

Having attained the ‘B’ License at Jamshedpur last year, Alfred is geared up for the ordeals of contemporary football and is aware about the expectations of the club. He says, "You always imagine about success, expectations are there for any team and coach, the pro league is tough competition and you do not expect easy matches either. We have to perform and deliver. It will not be easy. The players will also gain. It is a fantastic opportunity for them to prove themselves and move ahead. Their performance is being monitored and they can break into the big picture so they’re in fact in a win-win situation," Alfred reasons before disclosing that he’s very much satisfied with the strength of the team and revealed aims of finding a spot in the first
two places.

The pro league is a perfect launch pad for Alfred for realising the aspiration but he’s relying on teamwork and unanimity of the players to achieve objectives. We says, "We had some players who can be very vital for our progress but to name them means doing injustice to others. In football you can not win matches with one player, individual brilliance should be there but unison is very necessary. You win with the team and lose with the team. The players should follow the strategies and directives of the coaches on the field and not play for individual glory but I am pleased that my players had responded well so far and I am also very content on the discipline of the team," explains Alfred who will be overall guided by the chief coach, Vincent Subramanium. He says, "I am so lucky to have such a well qualified and reliable man in our coaching staff, he has been in football for so many years and I can always consult him for advice.
He is marvelous".