Sporting Clube de Goa defender Miguel Garcia won SCG Player’s Player of the Year award while Mauvin Borges clinched SCG Player’s Young Player of the Year award at a ceremony held at the Club House in Panaji recently.
The awards voted for by Sporting Clube’s senior squad are to reward and recognise the outstanding contributions made by their own teammates.
While Portuguese defender Miguel beat stiff competition of midfielder Pratesh Shirodkar, right back Clemente Joseph took the third place.
Mauvin was the winner of the U-23 award, just ahead of goalkeeper Ravi Kumar and India international defender Sandesh Jhinghan who finished third.
Joseph Pereira completed a record 15 seasons with Sporting Clube de Goa and was symbolically handed the captain’s armband during their concluding Goa Pro League clash against Churchill Brothers at the Duler Football Stadium in Mapusa on Wednesday.
Now in the twilight of his career, Joe, as he is affectionately known, has been a rare one-club player. He joined Sporting Clube in 2003 and has been part of all four triumphs in the Goa Pro League.
“He is our all-time great. His record is incredible,” said club secretary Victor Fernandes. “Joe was impressive in the field. Those touches of brilliance are still there. As long as he desires, and is fit to play, there will always be a place for Joe at Sporting,” said Fernandes.
Joe, who will turn 36 in June, is the longest-serving player at Sporting Clube. Should he continue for another year, he will match the record of Brahmanand Shankhwalkar and Bento Andrew at Salgaocar SC, while another year would see him overtake the likes of Camilo Gonsalves, Clifford Miranda and Samir Naik at Dempo Sports Club.
While the day was special for Joe, Sporting Clube missed out on a record of their own.
All along this season, Sporting Clube were unstoppable. At the start, during the All-India football tournament for the AWES Cup, Sporting remained undefeated, yet were unlucky not to have qualified for the semifinals. In the Goa Pro League, they had better luck as they won the title with a match in hand. But in the concluding league clash, they lost to Churchill Brothers 1-2, and with it lost the record of winning the league title without losing a single match. When Sporting Clube last won the league title in 2016, they had lost three matches. Since the inception of the Goa Pro League in 1998, only Dempo Sports Club (2005-06) and Salgaocar FC (2014-15) have remained unbeaten on their way to the title. Sporting Clube completed their league engagements with 55 points in their kitty, the highest number of points that any club has won, simply because the league has never before had 12 teams. Churchill Brothers are seventh on the table with 23 points from 20 matches. All goals in this battle were scored in the opening 45 minutes. Willis Plaza and Israil Gurung scored for Churchill while Marcus Mascarenhas had equalised for Sporting Clube and raised hopes that they would end their campaign unbeaten. In the end, that was not to be.
Sporting Clube de Goa are delighted to announce the appointment of Savio Medeira as the club's new Technical Director.
Medeira, a highly respected figure in Indian football, brings over 35 years of invaluable experience at all levels of the game to this crucial leadership role.
“Sporting Clube de Goa is elated to welcome Indian football icon Savio Medeira as our new Technical Director. Savio's illustrious career as both a tremendously accomplished player and highly successful coach at club and international levels make him unequivocally the right man to spearhead our ambitious vision moving forward. His experience and expertise give us complete confidence in our ability to compete, and establish Sporting Clube as a consistent powerhouse on the national stage.” Stated club president Natalina Vaz.
A true stalwart, the 57-year-old Medeira enjoyed an illustrious 17-year playing career from 1983-2000 as a midfielder for Salgaocar FC, winning two Rover Cups, a Federation Cup, and the 1997-98 National Football League title. After retiring as a player, he transitioned seamlessly into coaching with the same club, leading them to a Durand Cup triumph in 2003.
Medeira's impressive coaching career includes a successful stint as assistant coach under Bob Houghton with the Indian national team (2007-2011). He played a pivotal role in India's triumphs during this period, including two Nehru Cups, the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, and qualification for the 2011 Asian Cup. He briefly served as head coach of the national team in 2011, guiding them to the SAFF Championship title. Most recently, Medeira served as the interim technical director of the All India Football Federation in 2021.
“I am tremendously honored to join Sporting Clube de Goa as the club's new Technical Director," said Savio Medeira. "This is an exciting opportunity to work for an ambitious club determined to reach new heights of sustained excellence.
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The awards voted for by Sporting Clube’s senior squad are to reward and recognise the outstanding contributions made by their own teammates.
While Portuguese defender Miguel beat stiff competition of midfielder Pratesh Shirodkar, right back Clemente Joseph took the third place.
Mauvin was the winner of the U-23 award, just ahead of goalkeeper Ravi Kumar and India international defender Sandesh Jhinghan who finished third.
Joseph's Sporting loyalty crosses 15 seasons
Now in the twilight of his career, Joe, as he is affectionately known, has been a rare one-club player. He joined Sporting Clube in 2003 and has been part of all four triumphs in the Goa Pro League.
“He is our all-time great. His record is incredible,” said club secretary Victor Fernandes. “Joe was impressive in the field. Those touches of brilliance are still there. As long as he desires, and is fit to play, there will always be a place for Joe at Sporting,” said Fernandes.
Joe, who will turn 36 in June, is the longest-serving player at Sporting Clube. Should he continue for another year, he will match the record of Brahmanand Shankhwalkar and Bento Andrew at Salgaocar SC, while another year would see him overtake the likes of Camilo Gonsalves, Clifford Miranda and Samir Naik at Dempo Sports Club.
While the day was special for Joe, Sporting Clube missed out on a record of their own.
All along this season, Sporting Clube were unstoppable. At the start, during the All-India football tournament for the AWES Cup, Sporting remained undefeated, yet were unlucky not to have qualified for the semifinals.
In the Goa Pro League, they had better luck as they won the title with a match in hand. But in the concluding league clash, they lost to Churchill Brothers 1-2, and with it lost the record of winning the league title without losing a single match. When Sporting Clube last won the league title in 2016, they had lost three matches.
Since the inception of the Goa Pro League in 1998, only Dempo Sports Club (2005-06) and Salgaocar FC (2014-15) have remained unbeaten on their way to the title.
Sporting Clube completed their league engagements with 55 points in their kitty, the highest number of points that any club has won, simply because the league has never before had 12 teams. Churchill Brothers are seventh on the table with 23 points from 20 matches.
All goals in this battle were scored in the opening 45 minutes. Willis Plaza and Israil Gurung scored for Churchill while Marcus Mascarenhas had equalised for Sporting Clube and raised hopes that they would end their campaign unbeaten. In the end, that was not to be.
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