Francis DSouza !
One of the best Goal-Scorers that
Saligao has been blessed with some very talented Footballers, in the past.
The late 70s through early 90s was a golden era for Saligao.
Tony Martins, Dominic Soares, Romeo Remedios, Vasu (Bablash) Chodankar, Francis DSouza, Agustine Dias
......just to name a handful.
I was fortunate to be associated with players like Francis, Vasu, Agustine, etc even though they were much senior to us.
Reason
..I was in the Managing Committee of Saligao Sporting Club, then.
Francis in his hey days was a revelation, be it for his school, village, club, state level or international level.
He started his career in Don Boscos High School, Panaji and then went on to play for Panvel, Dempo,
In fact, Francis was the first Goan to play for a
However, he returned back to Dempo Sports Club the following year, the club where he was to end his career.
Francis never refused to play for Saligao (Saligao Youth Club and then Saligao Sporting Club) although First division players were forbidden to play in village tournaments, even in those days.
So great was his scoring capability that the fans would be disappointed if he did not score a goal in any match.
There were many Finals that Saligao Sporting won and you would find only Francis name on the score-sheet.
The same can be said of him, when
In the late 80s, Dempo won the Rovers Cup in
It was Francis Birthday that day and he scored a Hat-trick (all 3 goals).
Francis was presented a Scooter by his Club as a token of appreciation.
If I remember correctly (Francis Rebeiro of Herald will know better), Francis did not even know to drive then.
Francis was not only a very skilled player, he was also intelligent and had an aptitude for general knowledge.
I remember having very long discussions with him during the World Cups in 1986 and 1990.
Even in his peak form he was quick to realize that it would be not be easy to make a life-time earning from a Football Career
..at least in those days.
So, he got himself trained as a Football Referee, a job I assume that he is still involved in.
He also joined
Later, he was to be the first coach to be appointed in Goa, by Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Francis, I hope you are reading !
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