MARCELLUS GOMES: MIGHTY LITTLE MAN ON A HOCKEY PITCH

ERROL D’CRUZ

Marcellus Gomes’ memoirs of his hockey-playing heyday include several painful moments.

A mouth injury cost him a tooth and resulted in stitches to the gums, lip and an eyebrow. Another blow called for stitches on the shin. Then, a broken ankle meant two long months on crutches.

The former international and Olympian, however, had no delusions about being a hockey player at the highest level and knew too well it would be all the more challenging for a diminutive player just five feet five inches tall.

“Looking back I recall that in spite of my small stature, I was never afraid of taking on any opponent or defender particularly at the national level where some used the hockey stick to injure players. At the international level, it was the body block,” Marcellus, 59, goes back in time.

Physical pain may have been one thing. The emotional and mental blows were quite another and Marcellus had his fair share. “In my days, the biggest headache was travelling back from camps and even international tournaments. Since I was a standby for the 1979 Junior World Cup, I remember having to return home in an unreserved compartment of a train from Chennai to Mumbai, travelling 24 hours!

“For some reason after a tour or tournament abroad, we always landed in Delhi. We then had to make our way home from there, either by train or plane. I remember pleading with an Air India official for a seat on a night flight to Mumbai but to no avail and I had to spend the whole night at Delhi airport,” Marcellus recollects. “It was a continuous struggle to be selected in the team,” reveals Marcellus. “When dropped or not selected it led to disappointment and depression.”

But it’s a feeling of utter joy that rises to the surfaces when Marcellus flashes back to his days of yore. Especially to the moment in 1981 when he was selected for India’s tour of Europe. It seems to obliterate all the trials and tribulations that an international hockey player endures. “It was a dream come true when I was included in the India team captained by the great Surjit Singh, coached by Harmeek Singh (another legend) and managed by Jamanlal Sharma (a hero from the golden era),” Marcellus freezes frame on that moment.

“I remember my recently-retired father (Paul) being overjoyed at the news. He wasted no time in distributing pedas in the neighbourhood! My mother (Lucy), although happy, was worried as well. After all, I had till then never travelled by plane. I didn’t even have a passport which was hurriedly secured within four days with the address registered as Punjab Police, Jalandhar, where we were stationed while at the camp,” Marcellus recalls.

The young forward then embarked on his first international campaign. “We boarded a plane to Rome and I soon realized the joy of representing the country. Listening to your national anthem particularly on a victory stand cannot be expressed in words,” he says with pride. The spin-offs from representing the country were heart-warming too, Marcellus reveals. “Playing for my country took me to so many wonderful cities all over the world. Also, the fame you gain brings respect from your school, college, people of your parish, fellow employees and others who play and follow hockey,” Marcellus says.

Donning the country’s colours led to many memorable moments. “As a player I remember my first international goal – a penalty stroke against The Netherlands in the1982 Esanda International tournament. It helped us win the match 2-1.

Marcellus Gomes converting a stroke at the Esanda Cup in Australia `1982

But inevitably, there were disappointing moments as well and Marcellus is still pained by some of them. “Finishing with the wooden spoon at the 1986 Willesden World Cup was very painful. “My most disappointing moment as a player was the penalty stroke I missed against Australia in the 1983 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We went on to lose that match,” Marcellus recounts. My teammates were supportive but I tried to be alone after the match and I couldn’t sleep that night.”

Marcellus flashed back to his days as a developing player. “I was coached during my formative years by my cousin Hillary Gomes. In school, it was Fr Benjamin Fernandes (St Stanislaus’, Bandra, Mumbai) and Jaswant Singh at Khalsa College. At the national camps, I learned a lot from VJ Peter and when I represented the country I was greatly influenced by the legendary Balbir Singh Sr and Balkishen Singh.

And Balbir showed what it takes to be a good manager. “It’s more when you lose, rather than when you win, that a manager shows his worth and greatness like Balbir did. After the humiliating 1-7 defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the 1982 Asian Games final in Delhi, we all remained in our rooms, not even venturing out for dinner. Balbir got the boys together and said that these things happen while assuring us he would accompany us to the dinner table and that he would take care of any adverse reaction from anyone on our way there.

Less than a fortnight later, Balbir reposed faith in Marcellus at the 1982 Esanda International tournament in Melbourne when India played Pakistan. “I came in for Mervyn Fernandis at inside-right, Syed Ali for Mohd Shahid at inside-left and we combined well in a 2-1 win – my most memorable team moment – and I remember Balbir coming up to congratulate the two of us.”

As a coach, Marcellus experienced some high moments. “The 4-1 win over The Netherlands in the qualification tournament for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. It helped us qualify with a match to spare. Our 5-2 win over Pakistan in the 1995 SAF Games final is also something I remember with great pride.

And the lows? “The 1-1 draw to Germany after we led 1-0 with around 10 minutes to go at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics which in the final analysis meant we missed the semifinals. Cedric, our head coach, was with the bench at ground level. I was up in the stands with the walkie-talkie communicating with him. I felt we should have played with an extra defender at the expense of a forward in those last 10 minutes. It wasn’t something we trained for and I wasn’t sure Cedric would agree. But, in retrospect, I should have suggested it. I really felt we would have won the match had I expressed my view to Cedric and he agreed. Not voicing my suggestion left me with deep regret which I have had to live with,” Marcellus laments.

“During my playing days in the late 1970s and 1980s, there was the robust Bombay Hockey League. There were organizations like Tata’s, Mahindras, Bombay Customs, Western Railway and Air India who employed good hockey players. Getting a job meant a lot for my family in those days. I chose Mahindras because my cousin (Hillary) worked for the company and played for its team. Another reason was many of my college mates did the same.

Marcellus showed a propensity for coaching right from his teenage years when he coached his school St Stanislaus’ age group teams. He still coaches the school’s team, 35 years running! There’s no mistaking that he connects with players and that has enabled him to don the role of player-coach often in his domestic career. Eventually, Marcellus became assistant coach to Cedric D’Souza, his Mumbai senior colleague, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

“Among the players that I held in high esteem was Mansoor Junior (Pakistan), Ric Charlesworth (Australia) and our own Ashok Kumar,” says Marcellus. It all held him in good stead. At Mahindras, he looked up to Michael Saldanha and Francis D’Mello as he grew in stature with the Mumbai outfit which included India regulars like right-half MM Somaya and centre-half Joaquim Carvalho.

In later years, Mahindras won the Aga Khan under Marcellus’ tutelage as player-coach. With Cedric as coach, his learning graph went sharply upward as Bombay (now Mumbai) won the 1989 Gwalior National championship. Bombay, guided by Marcellus, won the Pepsi Cup in Lucknow in 1990 who showed keenness for change in strategy by replacing the traditional 5-3-2-1 formation with 3-3-3-1 with good results.

Hockey has given Marcellus a bagful of memories that he cherishes. A father of two daughters – Mirelle, studying for an MBBS degree in Sangli and Shreya in Junior College — he still offers a lot to the game in terms of coaching and mentoring youngsters in Bandra (West), Mumbai, where he lives with his wife Svetlana at his Bazaar Road abode.

“Marky” to his friends and Mumbai teammates, Marcellus has certainly made a mark at every level in a sport he dearly loves and is a beacon of hope for hockey in the metropolis which is badly in need of a revival.

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