If u managed to open the blog by Cip "Skippy" Fernandes , you willsee a
photograph of the RGI team that won its first M.R. DeSouzaGold Cup tournament
in 1958.
Also in the photograph- squatting to the left - Dar's Adolph Demello,Saude
George (Kenya's National goal-keeper) behind Alu to the right,and extreme right
-back row- Henry Braganza the Toronto singer,ping-pong player and brother of
the late Tanzanian and Kenyanbadminton champion- Alice DeSouza.
Tony.
On Saturday, March 11, 2017 12:36 PM, "Mervyn Lobo mervynal...@yahoo.ca
[goans_tanzanite]" <goans_tanzan...@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Folks,
The following is from Cip Fernandes's blog.
The link shows some great pictures and you might recognise people who played in
Tanzania too. One poignant picture shows Alu being beaten in a dash by the best
sprinter in the world at the time - Seraphino Antao.
For those who cannot open links, here is the body of the article.
Mervyn-------------------------------------
http://cyprianfernandes.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/seraphino-antao-pips-alu-at-tape-in-100.html
Alu Mendonca
The world’s greatest hockey left winger
By Norman Da Costa
There isn’t a greater sight in field hockey than seeing a player thunder down
at full speed and cannon the ball to the back of the net with awesome power.
With the constant roar of the crowd chanting “Alu, Alu, Alu” the great Aloysius
Mendonca would ignite City Park Stadium with his exhilarating pace on the left
wing. The exclamation point was the ball finding the top of the net past
bewildered goalkeepers. Just ask the best goalkeepers at the time - India’s
Deshmathu and Abdul Rashid of Pakistan - and the others who faced him when he
played for the Railway Goan Institute and in Kenya’s colours.
This star, who was known to the fans only by his first name -- just like those
Brazilian soccer maestros Pele, Tostao, Rivelino, Ronaldo and Neymar -- passed
away peacefully at the Nairobi Hospital on Friday, March 10, 2017 at the age of
85. Alu’s death comes two years after the dashing centre forward and his
international teammate Egbert Fernandes died in Canberra in November 2014. He
leaves behind his brother Pius, sisters Anne (D’Sa) and Teresa (Mandriks), a
former Kenya international, children Derek (Rosalynn), Erika (Mendonca-DeSilva)
and Cora Lisa (Barretto) and five grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife
Alba.
Alu was one of a kind. I was fortunate enough to line up with this
multi-talented star for the Railway Goan Institute for several years and many a
time stood still in awe watching this phenomenon perform his magic on a
star-studded team that included Silu Fernandes, Hilary Fernandes, Leo Fernandes
and Reynolds de Souza. In 1976, Alu and I were together again when I managed
the Kenya national team for the Rene Frank International tournament in Madras.
I got an insight of his coaching methods as he was the national coach and was
ably assisted by the late Hardev Singh Kular. Under Alu’s guidance the young
team posted a creditable fifth-place finish. Apart from his national duties Alu
also enjoyed success coaching the RGI women, one of Nairobi’s top women’s
teams.
Mendonca was born in Anjuna, Goa, in January 1933 and on arriving in Kenya with
his family he joined Dr. Ribeiro’s Goan School, the famed school in Nairobi
that was a conveyer belt for producing world-class hockey players under the
tutorship of coach-extraordinaire Anthony de Souza.
It was here that the talent of this exceptional athlete was recognized and he
was picked to represent the Schools Combined XI against touring All India in
1948-1949. This was the match that launched the illustrious career of the
greatest left winger of his era as he went on to represent his country at four
Olympic Games. His first appearance came in 1956 when the country made its
Olympics debut in Melbourne and it was a proud moment for all Goans as
Mendonca’s teammate, the late Anthony Vaz, was given the unique honour of being
the flag bearer.
Four years later in 1960 Mendonca captained his country in Rome and he ended
his career following the Olympics in Tokyo in 1964 where the squad posted its
best-ever showing and earned an Olympic certificate.
Mendonca was later appointed national coach and that meant two more Olympic
visits to Munich in 1972 and Montreal four years later. His six Olympic
appearances were a rare feat matched only by his close friend and international
teammate left back Avtar Singh Sohal. Avtar, like Mendonca, was also only the
second Kenyan to be named the best player at their respective position by their
peers and the world media.
Alu’s flair wasn’t only confined to hockey. He also happened to be a
first-class sprinter and opened the bowling for the Railway Goan Institute
cricket team. He will be remembered for giving the great Kenyan sprinter
Seraphino Antao a scare after he had just returned from Perth with his two
sprinting gold medals in 1962. Seraphino pipped the hard-charging Alu at the
tape.
One of the many tributes that poured in after Alu’s death came from Avtar Singh
who echoed the thoughts of every player associated with Alu.
“Alu was my colleague, my captain, my coach and my great friend,’’ said Avtar.
“He was humble, down to earth and always smiling. You rarely get a personality
like Alu in your lifetime.
“I was very fortunate to play with the world’s greatest left winger at three
Olympics. Hats off to a great hockey player and a great man,’’ added Avtar.
At the club level Alu played for the Railway Goan Institute, one of East
Africa’s premier clubs, and captained the team to the club’s first of three
M.R. de Souza Gold Cup victories in 1958. He was an integral member of the team
in the other two victories in 1967 and in 1969.
So what made Alu the greatest left winger of his time? It was his pace, power
and incredible technique to score goals on the turn.
“He was the greatest left winger ever, period,’’ said Silu Fernandes, that
uncompromising left back, who played in three Olympics and a RGI teammate. “I
played internationally so many times and never saw one winger as good as Alu.
It was that ability to turn and hit on the run at full speed.
“We shared a room on every one of our numerous tours and he was one of the
finest roommates you could have. My greatest memory of Alu was him depositing
the ball past India’s Deshmathu in a Test match in Nairobi. He never saw the
ball.”
Kenya’s wizard of dribble Hilary Fernandes, another three-time Olympian, was
also Alu’s teammate at school and on the three RGI-winning teams. Although a
world-class right inner in his own right, Hilary always looked up to Alu for
inspiration. “He motivated us all and was a classy gentleman. Alu was a gifted
athlete and his ability to hit the ball at speed separated him from all of the
other wingers.
“My most enduring moment was setting up a pass for him after beating two
defenders against Pakistan in 1960 and he found the net with an unstoppable
shot in our 3-1 win.’’ This was Pakistan’s heaviest defeat and Kenya’s greatest
win against the world power. The goals came from Alu, Avtar Singh and
centre-half Surjeet Jnr. The forward line consisting of Gurcharan Singh, Hilary
Fernandes, Egbert Fernandes, Hardev Singh and Alu was generally considered by
far the most potent line-up the country fielded.
Amar Singh, another Sikh Union ace and Olympic teammate, also had fond memories
of Alu. “Alu was a natural left winger and I never saw any player dart down the
wing at such speed and let go such a hard shot,’’ said Amar who played on the
right wing.
“He was always smiling and the beauty of our Kenya team was that we were all so
fit and very, very close despite playing on different teams at the club level.
Alu was one of a kind.’’
xxxxxxx
Norman Da Costa represented RGI on one Gold Cup winning squad in 1969 and
managed Kenya’s national team to India in 1976. Da Costa was formerly sports
editor of the Daily Nation before emigrating to Canada in 1976. He was the
chief soccer writer for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper, for 27
years before retiring in 2010.
ALU MENDONCA: THE GREAT HOCKEY LEFT WINGER
ALU MENDONCA: THE GREAT HOCKEY LEFT WINGER
Seraphino Antao pips Alu at the tape in 100 yards at Railway Goan Institute
RGI with first the first three ...
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