By Abhishek Roy, IANS
Ludhiana : When it comes to football, India is nowhere near the global teams, but its culture and appreciative audience has been successful in attracting players from faraway Brazil, the five-time World Cup champions.
In the by-lanes of Sao Paulo, on the beaches of Rio de Janiero and deep inside coffee plantations, football is all about living the dreams and a Brazilian is ready to do anything for it, even travel to India.
As many as five Brazilians – Jose Ramirez Barreto (Mohun Bagan), Edmilson Marques (East Bengal), Roberto Silva Beto (Dempo), Eduardo Escobar and Marcos Pereira (both JCT Mills) – are currently plying their trade in the nation’s top clubs.
And they all feel that the crowd in the eastern city of Kolkata and the Portugese culture of Goa on the west coast give them a feel of a “home away from home”.
“Playing in India is a unique experience for us. We love playing in Kolkata and Goa only as these are the only two places where people love the game,” Beto told IANS on the sidelines of the ongoing 29th Hero Cycles Federation Cup football tournament.
Beto has been with Goa’s Dempo the last two seasons after having made his Indian debut in Mohun Bagan colours.
“It is very difficult to make a name in Brazil. The competition is very tough and so we want to come out of the country as soon as possible. Money is also a factor,” said Beto.
“Playing in Kolkata is good because there is always a good crowd supporting the teams. We Brazilians play well when we have a big crowd cheering for us,” he said.
Beto was successful during his stint with Mohun Bagan and scored 23 goals in the national league but pressure from the club officials forced him to move west to Dempo.
“In Goa it is a more relaxed atmosphere. The culture and the language are similar. And here the club officials don’t put any pressure on you,” said the Dempo striker.
Of all the Brazilians, Mohun Bagan’s Baretto has been the most celebrated foreign footballer in recent times and earned the nickname of ‘Green Parrot’.
“I feel like home when I play in Kolkata. When I was playing with Mahindra United in Mumbai, I missed my fans and then decided to come back to Mohun Bagan,” said Barreto.
Barreto joined the maroon and green outfit in the 1999-2000 season and has scored more than 150 goals with the Kolkata club.
Dempo has the distinction of signing the first Brazilian player and coach.
Joao Soares was the first to play for the Goans, who had Franciso Gonsalves as the coach for some time.
“I think they are the leaders in the field. They have something special in them and I salute them,” said Dempo’s current coach Armando Colaco.
Recalling his experience with Christiano Junior, who died following an on-field collision during the 2004 Federation Cup, Colaco said the player had arrived as an anonymous footballer in Kolkata in 2003.
By the time the season was over, he was the darling of the East Bengal supporters. In a faraway land he hardly knew a year ago, Junior had become a star.
The 25-year-old Brazilian was re-creating some more magic for Dempo, whom he joined the next season and took it to the pinnacle with the maiden Federation Cup triumph, before fate intervened.
“I think he is still around. He was very close to me and I feel I have lost a great friend in Junior,” said Colaco, as his eyes turned moist.
The coach also has a picture of Junior saved on his mobile phone as wallpaper.
Among the foreign coaches, Mohun Bagan’s Carlos Roberto Pereira da Silva is the only Brazilian. This is Pereira’s second year in India, after he was appointed East Bengal coach in 2005. He feels that there is talent in the country but it needs to be nurtured.
“Brazilian players can come and inspire the youngsters but they can’t produce players. The onus is on the federation to have a good youth programme and nurture talent,” said Pereira.