I forgot to mention the Bomboi Goans...there were so many in hockey.....the India goalkeeper who won the world Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Cedric Pereira (?) who is now in Toronto......so many others from the Railways and Mahindras....some footballers too.....then there was athlete Eddy Sequera who came 4th in the 400 meters at the Munich Olympics I think.
Goan sports writers: I remember fondly the Crasto family from Byculla....maybe Jane Gillian Rodrigues/Eugene may fill in on them. They were both sportsmen and journalists. I understand Darryl Crasto passed on a few years ago. The whole Bomboi Goan thing happened in the pleasant months of November (aside from the Bandra feast in December (?), this was the other major happening) when the Rovers Cup got into the quarter final stage and the.........suddenly, there was Concani at the around the Cooperage with the chaai and baajas on old newspaper at half time. Before any major game featuring a Goan team, there was a thick line of Goans walking towards the Cooperate from Dhobitalao! The big draw at the Cooperage was Vasco Club.....even today, Vasco draws a crowd there I guess for nostalgia.......they were a big top team at the Rovers. It was the only tournament they did not win in the South apparently. In Goa, there were clubs but none with a following as Vasco Club! Any one remember the football referees from the old days? There is the famous Popot (Bina/Vasko).....he was the bigger draw than any game he refereed....and his decisions were usually controversial. Even if he got a call right, he was abused. It was a habit. The seriousness he did his job was comical at best. One sees him around usually after a Pro League game in Margao talking in Portuguese (so Ch^rchill wont understand) which actually sounds closer to Cannad to my ears. One thing though...with a pet name like that and all the abuse, I admire his courage and persistence in refereeing games. He never gave up. Maybe he liked the attention. Guess there were not too many referees around then. He was particularly great during the two monsoon tournaments at the MPT grounds in Bina. One never appreciated the football there then but in hind sight, people came from great distances to watch football in the rain.........it was great with the mud and the water an a misbehaving ball. To complete the drama, there was Popot in charge of the game (I think he was part of the organizing group as well)!!! The other memorable referee was the late Simplicio of Majorda. He was a teacher by profession, baatkar in his spare time and a referee at other times. He had a bit of a temper and lived close to the Musoon football ground and there were instances when the going got rough during a game......(there is no Goa Poolice in the villages yo).....he quietly slipped away from the action and back to his darkened home!!! On 27 July 2010 13:19, Bernado Colaco <ole_...@...> wrote: > Nice one Pandu, there was boxing too. Oscar Furtado was one of the greatest > boxers of the 70 era. In basketball there was the tall Clovis Lopes. In > Chess > there was Hafiz Karmali and Francis Rodrigues. > > And in goondagiri there were the khojas:))))))))))))))))))) > > BC > COMMENT: Oscar Furtado is alive and well and is i/c the G.O.A. In Toronto! * * * UK STOCKS EXHAUSTED! After a community-supported launch at Croydon, Selma Carvalho's *Into the Diaspora Wilderness* is available at Broadways Book Centre, Panjim [Ph +91-9822488564] Price (in Goa only) Rs 295. Ask a friend to pick up a copy. Details of the book http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/ * * *
