Salgaocar Football Club (formerly Salgaocar Sporting Club) is an Indian professional
football club based in
Vasco,
Goa.[1] Being one of the country's most successful clubs, it is currently operating youth teams. Until the disfunction of club's senior team in June 2023, Salgaocar competed in the
Goa Professional League.[2]
Salgaocar Sports Club was established in 1956 as the Vimson Club and also participated as Clube Desportivo Salgaocar till the liberation of Goa in 1961.[23][24][25] It was founded by VM Salgaocar, founder President of the VM Salgaocar Group of Companies, to give a platform to the Goan youth to showcase their talent to the country, and to the world.[26] In 1962, Salgaocar Sports Club became the first Goan team to be extended an invitation to play in the prestigious
Durand Cup in New Delhi,[27] and such was the joy of a Goan team's participation in the Durand Cup, that the Late Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru felicitated the team at his residence. In 1988, they clinched Sait Nagjee Cup in Kerala; In 1989, the reached final again, but ended-up as runners-up after being defeated to Bangladeshi club
Dhaka Abahani.[28]
In 1990, Salgaocar participated at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Club Cup in
Kolkata, which is the only international club tournament held in India.[31] They were knocked out of the tournament after finishing on the bottom of Group-A, where they faced clubs like Paraguayan side
Club Olimpia and Danish side
Lyngby Boldklub.[32] The club was briefly managed by noted Indian coach T. K. Chathunni in the late 1990s.[33][34]
Salgaocar participated in the
National Football League (India) since the tournament began in 1996,[36][37][38] and successfully annexed all possible trophies on the Indian circuit thereby etching their name amongst the top teams in the country. A National League triumph in 1999,[39][40][41] 3 Federation Cups in 1988, 1989 and 1997,[42] Super Cup in 1997 and 1999, prestigious Rovers Cup, in 1989, 1996[43] and 1999, Durand Cup, twice in 1999[44] and 2003,[45] Sait Nagjee Trophy in Calicut, in 1987 and TFA shield at Madurai, in 1979. Salgaocar Sports Club have also been crowned Goa State Champions for a record 19 times including winners for 3 consecutive years of the Goa Professional League in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05. The Club also won the Governor's Cup in the years 1999 and 2001. The late 1980s and the 1990s saw Salgaocar SC consistently bag trophies such as the Federation Cup, the National League, the Durand Cup, Rovers Cup and the Super Cup.[46]
The last few years, one may describe as one that has seen the glory years seem light years away. Relegation, a successful promotion, and then again relegation has left the Salgaocar faithfully shattered. Critics have been swift in writing the club off, but managed to make the first division of the
NFL in 2003 and staying their till the beginning of the
I-League.
In 1996, Salgaocar became one of the original 12 clubs in the National Football League and finished 3rd in Group A but finished 7th in the Final Round.[47] In 1998, at the 9th
Asian Cup Winners' Cup, Salgaocar caused an upset victory in its home tie at the
Fatorda Stadium against one of the Cup favourites
Beijing Guoan from China.[48]
In the
2010–11 season, Salgaocar played in the
I-League which was India's biggest football competition and they emerged as the champions.[60] After 26 rounds, Salgaocar SC won the title and they qualified for the
2012 Asian Champions League qualifying round.[61]
On 29 September 2011, Salgaocar won their second trophy in four months by winning the
2011 Indian Federation Cup by beating
East Bengal in the
Final 3–1.[62] This was the first time in Salgaocar history that they had completed a double of league and cup win.[63]
Salgaocar started the
2011–12 I-League as the defending champion.[64] But they had a rather disappointing season where they finished their campaign at 6th position.[65] Salgaocar started the
2012–13 campaign with
Karim Bencherifa as their head coach.[66][67][68] His one-year contract was terminated before the end of the year, due to poor performances and prolonged national team duties.[69] But he left to take over the reins at
Mohun Bagan after two games into the new season. He was replaced by
David Booth,[70][71][72] who had previously coached
Mahindra United and
Mumbai.[73] More disappointments followed in the season as they were close to the drop at one time. They finished the season at 7th position.[74] Salgaocar replaced Booth with
Derrick Pereira who had been the coach of
Pune FC for the past four seasons and had led them to two consecutive top-5 finishes in the I-League. Salgaocar started the
2013–14 I-League brightly and at one time led the table for six game weeks, but a rough patch of 8 games, which included four straight losses, derailed their campaign and saw them lose the title to
Bengaluru FC. Salgaocar finished their campaign at third place, which was a marked improvement over their past two campaign finishes.[75][76]
In
2014 Durand Cup, held from 20 October to 8 November in
Goa, Salgaocar emerged championship defeating
Pune FC 1–0 in final.[77][78] The club was later opted out of the
2016–17 I-League season as two other Goan clubs pulled out.[79][80] In June 2023, Salgaocar announced that they have discontinued the operations of club's senior team.[81][82][83][84]
Club crest and kits
In September 2012, Salgaocar unveiled new club crest, different from the previous one, with having symbol of glory, mining tools highlighting the foundation of the V. M. Salgaocar Group, a conch symbolising new hope and an auspicious beginning, and a ribbon with fire indicating pride and passion.[85] The club was re-christened as "Salgaocar Football Club" at that time, with acquiring the motto More than a game, it's our passion.[85]
The club colours are predominantly green,[86] and white.[87][88] The home kit very much shows this as the jersey and socks are green while the shorts are white. The away kit has a set of red jerseys and socks while also having blue/purple shorts.
Salgaocar Sports Club was established in 1956 and is owned by the V. M. Salgaocar Group of Companies.[90] It got the Indian recognition only when Goa was liberated from the
Portuguese rule in 1961.[91]
Salgaocar players also practiced at the BITS Pilani Campus grounds.[100] The team has its in-house
gym with modern equipment and professional trainers.
Salgaocar FC has its various youth sides, which have competed in youth leagues of India.[177] Its U-19 team has previously participated in various editions of
Elite League India/I-League U-19,[178][179] since its inauguration in
2008. In 2014, the U19 team won Nagaradakshya United Cup in Kolhapur, defeating Dempo in final.[180] In December 2008, Salgaocar U-15 side defeated Raghav Football Club of Gurgaon 2–0 to win the India leg of the fourth (Under-15)
Manchester United Premier Cup and earned the right to represent the country in the world finals in
Manchester, England.[181]
Salgaocar FC organised three Grassroots Festival through the course of the year to commemorate "AFC Grassroots Day".[183] Children from the club's community outreach program, budding footballers from the club's U-10 and U-12 teams and kids from the club's three partner schools, participated in those festivals.[183] Youth team of Salgaocar reached semi-finals of U-18 I-League in 2017.[184] They launched their grassroots football programme for the youth league of Goa ahead of the 2018–19 season.[185]
^Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015).
"Time to regain lost glory". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived from
the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^Sharda, Deepankar (12 December 2016).
"Minerva FC to debut in 2017 I-League". tribuneindia.com. Chandigarh: The Tribune India News. Archived from
the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^Sharma, Sukalp (31 May 2010).
"Indias biggest league". financialexpress.com. The Financial Express. Archived from
the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008).
"History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from
the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
Mahmud, Dulal (20 September 2020).
"ফুটবলার আসলামের আসলাম হয়ে ওঠার গল্প" [The story of footballer Aslam's journey of becoming Aslam]. khulnagazette.com (in Bengali). Khulna, Bangladesh: খুলনা গেজেট. Archived from
the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
Salgaocar Football Club (formerly Salgaocar Sporting Club) is an Indian professional
football club based in
Vasco,
Goa.[1] Being one of the country's most successful clubs, it is currently operating youth teams. Until the disfunction of club's senior team in June 2023, Salgaocar competed in the
Goa Professional League.[2]
Salgaocar Sports Club was established in 1956 as the Vimson Club and also participated as Clube Desportivo Salgaocar till the liberation of Goa in 1961.[23][24][25] It was founded by VM Salgaocar, founder President of the VM Salgaocar Group of Companies, to give a platform to the Goan youth to showcase their talent to the country, and to the world.[26] In 1962, Salgaocar Sports Club became the first Goan team to be extended an invitation to play in the prestigious
Durand Cup in New Delhi,[27] and such was the joy of a Goan team's participation in the Durand Cup, that the Late Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru felicitated the team at his residence. In 1988, they clinched Sait Nagjee Cup in Kerala; In 1989, the reached final again, but ended-up as runners-up after being defeated to Bangladeshi club
Dhaka Abahani.[28]
In 1990, Salgaocar participated at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Club Cup in
Kolkata, which is the only international club tournament held in India.[31] They were knocked out of the tournament after finishing on the bottom of Group-A, where they faced clubs like Paraguayan side
Club Olimpia and Danish side
Lyngby Boldklub.[32] The club was briefly managed by noted Indian coach T. K. Chathunni in the late 1990s.[33][34]
Salgaocar participated in the
National Football League (India) since the tournament began in 1996,[36][37][38] and successfully annexed all possible trophies on the Indian circuit thereby etching their name amongst the top teams in the country. A National League triumph in 1999,[39][40][41] 3 Federation Cups in 1988, 1989 and 1997,[42] Super Cup in 1997 and 1999, prestigious Rovers Cup, in 1989, 1996[43] and 1999, Durand Cup, twice in 1999[44] and 2003,[45] Sait Nagjee Trophy in Calicut, in 1987 and TFA shield at Madurai, in 1979. Salgaocar Sports Club have also been crowned Goa State Champions for a record 19 times including winners for 3 consecutive years of the Goa Professional League in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05. The Club also won the Governor's Cup in the years 1999 and 2001. The late 1980s and the 1990s saw Salgaocar SC consistently bag trophies such as the Federation Cup, the National League, the Durand Cup, Rovers Cup and the Super Cup.[46]
The last few years, one may describe as one that has seen the glory years seem light years away. Relegation, a successful promotion, and then again relegation has left the Salgaocar faithfully shattered. Critics have been swift in writing the club off, but managed to make the first division of the
NFL in 2003 and staying their till the beginning of the
I-League.
In 1996, Salgaocar became one of the original 12 clubs in the National Football League and finished 3rd in Group A but finished 7th in the Final Round.[47] In 1998, at the 9th
Asian Cup Winners' Cup, Salgaocar caused an upset victory in its home tie at the
Fatorda Stadium against one of the Cup favourites
Beijing Guoan from China.[48]
In the
2010–11 season, Salgaocar played in the
I-League which was India's biggest football competition and they emerged as the champions.[60] After 26 rounds, Salgaocar SC won the title and they qualified for the
2012 Asian Champions League qualifying round.[61]
On 29 September 2011, Salgaocar won their second trophy in four months by winning the
2011 Indian Federation Cup by beating
East Bengal in the
Final 3–1.[62] This was the first time in Salgaocar history that they had completed a double of league and cup win.[63]
Salgaocar started the
2011–12 I-League as the defending champion.[64] But they had a rather disappointing season where they finished their campaign at 6th position.[65] Salgaocar started the
2012–13 campaign with
Karim Bencherifa as their head coach.[66][67][68] His one-year contract was terminated before the end of the year, due to poor performances and prolonged national team duties.[69] But he left to take over the reins at
Mohun Bagan after two games into the new season. He was replaced by
David Booth,[70][71][72] who had previously coached
Mahindra United and
Mumbai.[73] More disappointments followed in the season as they were close to the drop at one time. They finished the season at 7th position.[74] Salgaocar replaced Booth with
Derrick Pereira who had been the coach of
Pune FC for the past four seasons and had led them to two consecutive top-5 finishes in the I-League. Salgaocar started the
2013–14 I-League brightly and at one time led the table for six game weeks, but a rough patch of 8 games, which included four straight losses, derailed their campaign and saw them lose the title to
Bengaluru FC. Salgaocar finished their campaign at third place, which was a marked improvement over their past two campaign finishes.[75][76]
In
2014 Durand Cup, held from 20 October to 8 November in
Goa, Salgaocar emerged championship defeating
Pune FC 1–0 in final.[77][78] The club was later opted out of the
2016–17 I-League season as two other Goan clubs pulled out.[79][80] In June 2023, Salgaocar announced that they have discontinued the operations of club's senior team.[81][82][83][84]
Club crest and kits
In September 2012, Salgaocar unveiled new club crest, different from the previous one, with having symbol of glory, mining tools highlighting the foundation of the V. M. Salgaocar Group, a conch symbolising new hope and an auspicious beginning, and a ribbon with fire indicating pride and passion.[85] The club was re-christened as "Salgaocar Football Club" at that time, with acquiring the motto More than a game, it's our passion.[85]
The club colours are predominantly green,[86] and white.[87][88] The home kit very much shows this as the jersey and socks are green while the shorts are white. The away kit has a set of red jerseys and socks while also having blue/purple shorts.
Salgaocar Sports Club was established in 1956 and is owned by the V. M. Salgaocar Group of Companies.[90] It got the Indian recognition only when Goa was liberated from the
Portuguese rule in 1961.[91]
Salgaocar players also practiced at the BITS Pilani Campus grounds.[100] The team has its in-house
gym with modern equipment and professional trainers.
Salgaocar FC has its various youth sides, which have competed in youth leagues of India.[177] Its U-19 team has previously participated in various editions of
Elite League India/I-League U-19,[178][179] since its inauguration in
2008. In 2014, the U19 team won Nagaradakshya United Cup in Kolhapur, defeating Dempo in final.[180] In December 2008, Salgaocar U-15 side defeated Raghav Football Club of Gurgaon 2–0 to win the India leg of the fourth (Under-15)
Manchester United Premier Cup and earned the right to represent the country in the world finals in
Manchester, England.[181]
Salgaocar FC organised three Grassroots Festival through the course of the year to commemorate "AFC Grassroots Day".[183] Children from the club's community outreach program, budding footballers from the club's U-10 and U-12 teams and kids from the club's three partner schools, participated in those festivals.[183] Youth team of Salgaocar reached semi-finals of U-18 I-League in 2017.[184] They launched their grassroots football programme for the youth league of Goa ahead of the 2018–19 season.[185]
^Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015).
"Time to regain lost glory". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived from
the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^Sharda, Deepankar (12 December 2016).
"Minerva FC to debut in 2017 I-League". tribuneindia.com. Chandigarh: The Tribune India News. Archived from
the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^Sharma, Sukalp (31 May 2010).
"Indias biggest league". financialexpress.com. The Financial Express. Archived from
the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008).
"History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from
the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
Mahmud, Dulal (20 September 2020).
"ফুটবলার আসলামের আসলাম হয়ে ওঠার গল্প" [The story of footballer Aslam's journey of becoming Aslam]. khulnagazette.com (in Bengali). Khulna, Bangladesh: খুলনা গেজেট. Archived from
the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.