Times of India | 1 day ago | 04-08-2022 | 02:40 am
Panaji: Armando Colaco has agreed a three-year deal with Sporting Clube de Goa and will take charge of the team on Friday.The former India coach is the country’s most successful in recent times, having won five national league titles with Dempo Sports Club between 2005 and 2012. Colaco won every major trophy in Indian football and his record of winning five league titles remains unmatched.Since parting ways with Dempo in 2013, Colaco had spells at East Bengal, Bardez FC, Sesa FA and more-recently with Churchill Brothers in the Goa Pro League. Now, for the first time, he has accepted a three-year contract with an aim of getting Sporting Clube back to the top.Sporting Clube have been playing in the Goa Pro League for the last six years and won two of the last three league titles. According to sources, Colaco has been in talks with Sporting Clube for a while now and it is understood that the two parties agreed terms late on Tuesday. The former India coach held talks with the club’s director Nathan Vaz, son of founder Peter Vaz, besides CEO Welvin Menezes and long-serving manager Angelo Albuquerque.“Terms have been agreed. The formal contract will be signed on Thursday,” said another source.Dempo and Colaco won their first National Football League (NFL) title in 2005, coincidentally at the expense of Sporting Clube who failed to defeat Mahindra United in the concluding league clash and finished second. Dempo capitalised on the slip as they registered a 2-0 win against Tollygunge Agragami in a match that was played simultaneously at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco.Sporting Clube were a top-tier side till 2016 when they pulled out of the I-League in protest against the AIFF decision to make Indian Super League (ISL) the top tier and relegate I-League to the second tier, with no avenues for promotion.Sporting Clube were joined by Salgaocar FC and later Dempo SC.According to the AIFF roadmap, starting with the 2022-23 and 2023-2024 season, the winner of the I-League will be promoted to the ISL with no participation fee, if they meet the national club licensing criteria.
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