‘Junior in a nut shell: He was good’

For every goal struck and every success met, Cristiano di Lima Junior owed it all to God. In fact, he had once said, ‘‘believe in the Almighty and the rest will fall in place.’’ Till today — when he scored those decisive goals in the Fed Cup final — everything had fallen in place. Blessed […]
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sambafoot_admin
2004-12-06 11:16:00

For every goal struck and every success met, Cristiano di Lima Junior owed it all to God. In fact, he had once said, ‘‘believe in the Almighty and the rest will fall in place.’’ Till today — when he scored those decisive goals in the Fed Cup final — everything had fallen in place.

Blessed with that natural Brazilian flair, Junior never missed a scoring opportunity. His amazing goal tally amply proved this. During his Indian sojourn — since he made his debut for East Bengal in 2003 — Junior never went goalless for more than a game.

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He landed in Kolkata, when his friend at East Bengal Douglas Da Silva recommended his name to the club. But the initial reports were not encouraging. Many dismissed him as an average player, but coach Subash Bhowmick saw the hunger in him.

Junior did not disappoint. Signed mid-way through the season, the lanky clean-shaven striker rewrote records netting seven goals in as many games for East Bengal. Suddenly opinions changed and Junior was hailed as the ‘Next Big Thing’ in Kolkata. For once, Indian icon Bhaichung Bhutia had a competitor, but neverthless Junior always maintained that Bhutia was ‘‘equally good’’.

It was this compatability between the two strikers that helped East Bengal win many battles. Bhowmick called it the ‘‘twin strike force’’ or ‘‘the lethal pair’’, whenever one asked him about his forwardline. But it couldn’t last long as Junior was soon to part ways — with Bhutia, with East Bengal and with Kolkata.

The silent and non-controversial performer with his limited English vocabulary seemed drawn to Goa. Close player-friends say that the deeply religious Junior, who was always facinated by churches, was more comfortable with the Portuguese-speaking players. This in some way explains his switch to Dempo. Bhutia could never understand the logic and said that ‘‘releasing Junior was a big mistake committed by East Bengal’’. He stood vindicated when Dempo beat East Bengal 2-0 in the Fed Cup semifinals. Asked about his late friend today Bhutia could barely speak, he just managed this: ‘‘He was good and that’s Junior in a nut-shell’’.

His former teammate at Dempo Alvita D’Cunha too was deeply moved. ‘‘Junior was an inspiration. His presence made one to perform … if not on par with him but at least to think about matching him.’’

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

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