From the brink of oblivion to trophies galore

Dubai: Dempo Club have come a long way from those heady days of Goan football prior to liberation from the Portuguese.

The club originated from what was Bicholim Sports Club, who played in the Goa First Division League from 1960.

However, with most of their mining operation concentrated in that part of North Goa, in 1966 Bicholim was taken over by Vasantrao Dempo and Michael D'Souza and Dempo Club was born.

Last week, Dempo lifted the I-League crown for the fifth time in eight years, quite a feat considering Dempo Group chairman Shrinivas Dempo considered shutting the club down at the turn of the millennium as "the money invested in it was not bringing any tangible benefits to the company".

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That made headline news given the Dempo is so well loved all over this western Indian state.

The chairman relented and former player Armando Colaco was entrusted with the team in 2000 in an attempt to turn the tide of the club's fortunes. And Colaco did not let him down.

Dempo clawed their way back into the premier division and have since gone on to win the Federation Cup, Super Cup and Durand Cup on one occasion each, while adding a fifth I-League crown this year to those won in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Last week, Dempo completed their campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Prayag United, ending the season with 57 points from 26 matches and leaving East Bengal in second place.

The West Bengal Minister for Sports, Madan Mitra, and Kushal Das, General Secretary, All India Football Federation (AIFF), handed the Champions Trophy to Dempo SC captain Climax Lawrence.

Much of Colaco's success, either with the Indian national team during an interim period last year or with Dempo Club, has been based on few essential basics such as unity in the squad, a family-like atmosphere and the will to rise above all things, whether wins or losses.

Much of his inspiration, by his own admission, has come from his playing days and beyond.

Inspiration to succeed

In an interview earlier this week, Colaco admitted that his inspiration to succeed came from the coaches he encountered: discipline from Joseph Ratnam (Dempo's coach in the 1970s); learning to keep players happy from Bob Bootland (former Dempo coach); and an ability to read the game from Danny McLennan (former coach with Churchill Brothers).

Asked about his ‘mantra' on winning the I-League last week, Colaco told the AIFF website: "The boys have done it for their team. At times they faced difficulties, but they rose to the occasion each time, and this defines their character."

And now with an automatic qualification for the AFC Cup, Colaco has reason to stay focused on what Dempo Club wants to achieve at the Asian level. "I always insist on not relying on one single individual, and this speaks about the sort of legacy we have created in our club," Colaco added.