From Margao, it took barely 30 minutes to reach Verca. “Where is Churchill’s house” ask any commoner on the way and you would be directed straight to strongman Alemao Churchill’s house. It is one of those typical Goanese house located deep inside a sleepy village which remained calm and composed even on a Sunday morning.
The moment I walked in, I saw a blackboard right infront of the entrance. It was the “appointment board” of Alemao (Churchill Brothers’ leadman). Being a minister in the Goa Government, he seems to be a busy man, I thought. Besides his footballing passion, he is also supposed to take care of his constituency.
After waiting for almost an hour alongwith other visitors (most of them had come to narrate their problems), the big, burly frame of Alemao finally trooped out of his rest room. Wearing his trademark spotless full-sleeve shirt and trouser, he said: “Sorry, I am late. Come, please come inside.” He directed me to his modest one-room office at his residence where he listens to each and every problem of his ‘people’– from a cancer patient who has been denied an appointment in a Mumbai hospital to a youth looking for an employment.
Yet, during that two-hour chat I had noticed how well Alemao had balanced his role –footbal administrator-cum-minister. So it was not surprising that you listened to “Churchill Brothers” more than anything else from him. It was on his lips right through as he believes his club isn’t an ordinary one. He wanted to dominate Indian football. This season, now that his team is firmly placed in I-League, Alemao should be all prepared to host a gala get-together at Verca.
Being at the top of leaderboard with 42 points, his club can only think of completing a formality, untill and unless they commit a harakiri. With Sporting Clube de Goa and Mohun Bagan sniffing down their shoulder, Churchill should play their last two matches with a composed mind. At this final hurdle, a slip in between is bound to haunt them for long. Like last year, when they missed the title just on goal-difference to Dempo.
Interestingly, this season their hitman and skipper Odafe Okolie (24 goals in his kitty) have ensured that even if they finish equal on points with their nearest teams, they still would have a decent goal-difference to sail them through.
There is this invincibility which makes Churchill a treat to watch. Alemao had always “imported good players and coaches” — Karim Bencharifa and Odafe were the latest imports in Churchill bandwagon. In fact, Alemao will go deep to find out decent combinations for his team. I feel, he is a better manager than any of those who are running club football in India.
Over the last couple of years, Alemao has successfully proved that East Bengal or Mohun Bagan are not unbeatable. During the transfer market, while the rest of the clubs would look for bigger names, Alemao would inevitably hire low-profile TFA cadets. Arindam Bhattacharya, Gourmangi Singh, Naoba Singh are some of his young players who have blossomed in his team. It is this idea of nurturing young talents which is now doing wonders for a team which lives on Alemao’s passion.
