Peter Vaz did not like being reminded that Sporting Clube de Goa, despite having some of India’s most attractive football teams, never won a big national trophy.
Sporting Clube came agonizingly close: At the National Football League (2004- 05) when they quite unexpectedly lost the concluding league clash against Mahindra United (1-3), and the Federation Cup final against the same opponents at the same venue – Nehru Stadium, Fatorda – in 2005.
After that twin debacle, Sporting Clube lost two more Federation Cup finals.
“Why don’t you count our Super Cup triumph,” Vaz always reminded this reporter, pointing to that famous 3-0 victory over Dempo Sports Club at Kozhikode in Kerala.
Less than a week earlier, Dempo had snatched the NFL title from right under Sporting’s nose for the first time. Yet, when the two teams came face-to-face for the Super Cup clash, it was a mismatch. Sporting seemed too hungry for that trophy, watched by their ‘patrao’ in the stands.
The Super Cup was a traditional season-ending clash with a trophy and cash purse of Rs 10 lakh on offer for a one-off game between the league and Cup champions. It’s a trophy that remained closest to his heart, until his untimely death in Bengaluru late on Thursday.
The 53-year-old’s death shocked Indian football.
“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,” said Goa Football Association president Churchill Alemao, who owns a football club of his own.
Vaz was a boss who did everything differently. While newcomers spent big money to build teams and make an instant impact, Vaz worked his way up with budget teams and smart signings, thanks to his amazing eye for talent.
“He could smell talent from a mile away,” said Angelo Albuquerque, his childhood friend and manager at the club since inception in 1999.
When Vaz took over Cidade de Goa’s football team – then in the first division – in 1999, everyone raised their eyebrows in surprise. Vaz was just 32, and while bigwigs normally chose company names for the teams they patronized, he chose a different path.
He named his club Sporting Clube de Goa. While it’s only now that the Indian Super League (ISL) has been enamored with the city-specific club concept and names, Vaz thought of this 20 years ago.
When African players were the norm, he hired Spaniards, played tiki-taka when it was not even fashionable and started the concept of Sportainment, a generous mix of sports and entertainment to attract the crowd.
“He had a fan club, anthem and club mascot 20 years ago. He had a great eye for talent and competed with teams with a much bigger budget. His death is a huge loss for Goan football,” said GFA executive committee member Jonathan De Sousa.
Welvin Menezes, Sporting Clube’s CEO at the moment, will feel the loss even more.
“It’s rare to find owners with his level of commitment. He did things which nobody could think of. His vision remains unmatched,” said Menezes.
Having opted out of the top-tier league four years ago due to the All India Football Federation’s faulty roadmap that demoted I-League and put ISL at the top, Vaz was playing the waiting game. He never really remained cut-off from the game, as evident from his far stronger team in Goa.
His dream though was to win India’s premier football league He was waiting to strike, again. Until Covid-19 played spoilsport.
(Taken from The Times of India – https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/peter-vaz-the-man-who-saw-footballs-tomorrow/articleshow/79973029.cms)
