As the church bells chimed at the stroke of midnight marking Christmas, the Goan football fraternity were shocked to receive unfamiliar messages on their cell phones besides the usual greetings.
None were sure, but everyone hoped the message to be false and was another fake rumour just like the many odd ones. It’s not a usual thing to happen.
But the message circulated happened to be of the death of the Sporting Clube de Goa patron Peter Vaz.
It was only in the early morning of Christmas the news was confirmed by the sources close to his family.
The news sent shockwaves throughout the country as the man who bred India’s finest talent left the earth too soon.
Peter’s football journey started in 1999, when the erstwhile Cidade de Goa, a team that played in the Goa Professional League was shutting down.
Peter Vaz, then well known among the Panjim footballing circles, on learning about Cidade de Goa’s untimed call, along with a few trusted friends like Edgar Afonso took over the team and renamed it Sporting Clube de Goa, after another famous Portuguese Sporting Clube de Lisbon.
The then GFA General Secretary Alberto Colaco recalled, “After Cidade de Goa opted to shut down, Peter Vaz decided to take over the team. I still remember when Anju (Angelo Albuquerque Sporting Clube de Goa Manager), walked into the GFA office to submit the form. And I was surprised to learn about what the new team name would be. When I asked Anju, he mentioned that the team would be named as Sporting Clube de Goa,” expressed Colaco, who added that Peter, unlike many others, thought about the community at large keeping aside his personal fame, as the entrepreneur could have easily opted to choose for Models SC or something to do with his business or name.”
Sporting had a similar logo as Sporting Lisbon- a lion on two feet, however, Peter after being bitten by Johann Cryuff’s Total football played by the Ducth in the 1970s decided to follow the same philosophy and playing style and adopted the Orange jerseys- which later earned them the nickname Flaming Oranje.
Peter was a visionary in the true sense. While clubs in India now swear by the bible of short passing, possession football and building up from the back starting with the goalkeeper, Peter’s Sporting Clube de Goa adopted this approach every since its inception in 1999.
A plethora of skillful and ball players donned the Orange jersey dishing out entertaining and breathtaking football.
Though dubbed the perennial chokers, the Flaming Oranje were never short of fans mainly due to the highly rated players that they would attract. Dudu Omaghbemi Macpherlin, who later played in the UEFA Champions League, Edeh Chidi, Odafa Okolie, who was one of the record goal scorers in the erstwhile I-League were a part of Sporting’s roster.
The mid 2000’s were Sporting's greatest years, when their team of high profile foreigners and talented and young Goans nearly did the double in Indian football, falling short to Dempo Sports Club on the final day of the 2004-05 NFL season and suffering a heartbreaking extra time defeat to Mahindra United in the 2005 Federation Cup final in Goa.
Sometimes you don’t need to be a good footballers to understand tactics. And Peter Vaz was one among few who could read the game. During the 2004-05 season, Sporting Clube need just two points in the final two games and were just four minutes away from clinching their first NFL title, but his coach Clifford opted to turn down his owner’s advice.
“We were leading by a goal against Tollygunge Agragami in our penultimate game and when the opponents introduced a striker, Peter called me and told me to introduce another defender in the game, but the coach turned down his advice and then we all know what happened,” explained Anju Albuquerque, the team manager of Sporting Clube de Goa.
Peter was a trendsetter in Indian football. While the advent of the India Super Legaue created the fan culture in India, Sporting Clube de Goa had Flaming Oranje, their fan club more than 20 years back. The club were the first in India to compose their own anthem while Zumba, their club mascot came much before Gaurdinho enthralled the Goan audience in the Indian Super League and so did their chant Forca Sporting.
The Sporting Clube de Goa President had a great eye for talent. His knack of spotting talent at a young age meant Sporting Clube de Goa had always the cream of Goan talent. Sporting won the first ever AIFF Youth League with players like Rowlin Borges who is now the mainstay of the national team.
Sporting’s investment in youth helped them control spiralling budgets as well as give the big clubs a run for their money. Sporting’s youth development structure was one of the best and their tie-up with Don Bosco High School in Panjim, Peter’s alma mater, meant infrastructure and quality grounds were never in dearth.
“Peter had a good eye for the players and we will miss him dearly,” stated Anju.
Peter had to opt out of the Top tier league during the 2016-17 season’s due to no proper roadmap from All India Football Federation. But always had his eye at the top-tier football. He followed the football developments closely and chose to wait for the right moment.
-Had a vision to make a comeback!
The former SCG Director had his vision set and was keen on making a comeback at the national platform.
During one of his casual interactions on his birthday (November 21, 2020) with the writer, Peter said, “We have to get back at the top tier but only once things fall in place. May be it will take another five years or more to get the things sorted in Indian football.”
Peter even stressed that he would be concentrating on a good youth team during this period that would ultimately be ready to play top level football.
“Right now this is the right time for us to build on our youth. By the time the Indian system falls in place, we will have a good set of local talent ready to play top level football,” added Peter.
Peter would never shy away from any topics related to football. His vision toward his projects was next to none.
The businessman even warned of the second wave of COVID to strike in the third week of December and had warned his team officials regarding the same when the GFA announced the new season of the Goa Professional League which begins in January.
As the questions arise about the future course of Sporting Clube de Goa, Goan football lovers will certainly miss the tall personality who not only loved the beautiful game but nurtured young talent who scaled heights at the international level.
(Compiled by Allan D’Cruz)
AIFF, GFA condole untimely demise of SCG Patron
Team Herald
PANJIM: The All India Football Federation and Goa Football Association condoled the untimely demise of Peter Vaz, founder and chairman of Sporting Clube de Goa.
Peter's death following a valiant battle against Covid-19 virus in Goa and Bangalore plunged the football fraternity in gloom. Many could not believe the sad news as he was always full of life, energetic and passion driven for football as well as real estate business.
“The AIFF fraternity is shocked to hear the unfortunate demise of Mr Peter Vaz. He will be remembered for his dynamicity and contribution to the club and the Indian Football in his capacity as the chairman of Sporting Clube de Goa,” Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF.
"On behalf of President Praful Patel and all Staff of AIFF, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family for this tragic and irreparable loss. We pray to God to give peace to the departed soul, and give the family members enough courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss,” he further mentioned.
Churchill Alemao, GFA President, in a condolence message, said that it is nearly inconceivable that the founder of Models Group and the President of one of Goa's leading and progressive football Club, Sporting Clube de Goa, is no more.
"He was the pillar of the formidable Sporting Clube de Goa which he tried to model on the lines of Sporting Clube de Portugal. The leading Goan entrepreneur was committed to elevate Goan football. It was in 1999 that Peter founded the club to champion the cause of Goan football, nurturing local talent. His focus was on spotting Goan talent at young age and guide the youngsters with proper coaching. He encouraged children from Don Bosco Panjim and surrounding areas and provided them a platform as he launched the grassroots development programme which ultimately led to the setting up of the Academy for children between 8 to 18," stated Churchill. A noteworthy project was Peter's grassroot festival at Don Bosco which was a grand success as part of the Club's community initiatives.
"Peter had the right football philosophy and spirit as his aim was to uplift, inspire, nurture and offer the youth an opportunity to excel through sustained coaching so as to help them to transition into becoming professional footballers. And there are several of them who went to don the National colours and represent India," remarked Churchill.
Churchill pointed out that Sporting under Peter's leadership shot to fame after a stellar performance in the 2001-02 Federation Cup and in 2003-04 made a debut in the National I-League where they competed for almost a decade before withdrawing some years ago.
Nurturing local talent was Peter's forte with the youth teams excelling in the AIFF 's youth league championships and even emerging Taca Goa U-20 champions following his well-structured youth development programme, concluded Churchill.
GFA's senior vice-president, Lavinio Rebello, vice-president Anthony Pango, Treasurer Denis and the Executive Committee members also condoled the death of Peter, which they said was shocking and unbelievable. "It's a great loss for Goan football," remarked Lavinio. Pango stated that Goan football will miss an ardent football lover.