New Delhi: Sporting Clube De Goa President Peter Vaz has done a Roman Abramovich by sacking Coach Vishwas Gaonkar for want of attractive football after the1-0 defeat to Mohun Bagan.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had asked Jose Mourinho to step down after the 1-1 draw against Rosenborg at home in a Champions League group stage match. The reasons given later were for the want to ‘sexy football’.
Peter Vaz has followed suit and got the most successful Indian coach in the I-League sacked.
"You see winning and losing doesn’t matter to me. Vishwas’ style of football didn’t suit Sporting’s game. We always play stylish football or what I term as the ‘samba’ way. As an owner of the club I want to good football," said Vaz.
To those think that the decision was a hasty one have got it all wrong. The Flaming Orange were indeed burning inside especially after the 1-0 loss to Vasco in the Round 12 of the I-League.
Former coach Clifford Chukuwama, who was relieved of his duties as the head coach at the start of the season, was asked to travel with the Sporting side to Kolkata for the Mohammedan and Mohun Bagan matches.
"We never relieved Clifford of his duties. We had given him a break and he was always in the loop as I had anticipated this. Vishwas would always speak ill about Clifford but that was only to get his tail up.
"We lost all games in the Federation Cup. In the previous years, we have done much better than that," added Vaz.
When asked whether having Clifford Chukuwama as the new coach would be taking a step backwards, Vaz said, "I gave Clifford a very young team earlier but now, we have some of the most experienced players with us. Apart from Dempo, we are the only club who have always managed to retain our players.
"We played some very good football under Clifford and I always believed in his ability."
Meanwhile, Vishwas Gaonkar was a disappointed man after being asked to step down in the aftermath of the 1-0 loss to Mohun Bagan.
Speaking to Goal.com, Gaonkar said, "I was asked to step down as the coach. I don’t know for what but it’s the management’s decision."
There were problems between the club president Peter Vaz and Vishwas Gaonkar after the game against Vasco but the things calmed down with other officials doing the peacemaker’s job.
Peter Vaz’s decision to send Clifford Chukuwama to Kolkata to join the Sporting think-tank caused a major difference of opinion.
Hours before the game against Mohun Bagan, Gaonkar informed Goal.com of his displeasure with Clifford’s presence.
"I don’t know what he (Clifford) is doing here. I haven’t allowed him to poke his nose in the team affairs so far."
It was a well-known fact that several senior members in the Sporting squad were loyal to Clifford Chukuwama and never really accepted Vishwas Gaonkar as their head coach. The players in question are Bibiano Fernandes, Micky Fernandes, Luis Barreto and Felip Gomes.
"I am aware that some players never accepted me but we have been getting good results. I took the team to the top of the table when nobody expected them to. It’s a feat which even several coaches, including foreign ones haven’t achieved easily," said Gaonkar.
The former Sesa Academy coach wasn’t happy about the reasons given by Peter Vaz for his sacking and chose to remain aloof from giving it back.
"I can only laugh at them. I am very happy with my team and we could have fought for the I-League. I informed all the boys about my departure and some of the youngsters expressed their displeasure as well."
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