BRUNO COUTINHO
It was a pity to know that two Goans – Fulganco Cardozo and Rowlin borges- were part of the Indian team for the friendly against Puerto Rico. Pity because in our times, playing for the country was the biggest honour. We all played to play for India and there was, as we say, no substitute for representing the country.
The trend seems to be changing now days. We still have the number of clubs in Goa as we had in the past but, the number of Goan players in the Indian team is decreasing. Two out of twenty eight shows there is something wrong.
We cannot blame the clubs. I think the problem is with the attitude of the players towards football. The clubs have always given the boys the platform to play. It is a platform that they have to shine and make themselves available for selection. It is the best platform but somehow, the players do not seem to be giving the I-league the importance it deserves. Or else, how can they justify themselves being excluded from the India team?
We know the ISL is here and with it money has come into Indian football. This money is good for a living but will never make you worthwhile football material. It could be that the boys are getting distracted with the hype created by the ISL. That hype is to draw to crowds and should not in anyway, distract the players whose job is to play football and not get carried away.
Subrata Paul has won the Arjuna Award and it is good that a football player has won an award after a while. To win the Arjuna won has to play for ones country for many years. I think this is just the second opportunity Fulganco has got. We need our boys to start waking up and thinking where they want to ultimately reach, through football.