Winning flair and square!

The Don Bosco (Matunga) under-16 Division I football squad. Pics/Kirti Surve Parade

Winning is a habit, they say and Don Bosco (Matunga) have made it a splendid one on the inter-school football scene.

In the last two decades, the school's football team have won the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) boys U-16 Division I titles in 2023, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004. It speak volumes of their dominance, and soon they could add one more
title when they face Bombay Scottish (Mahim) in the final.

Pandemic problem

They were runners-up in 2016 and 2009 and could have well reached the top in 2020 and 2021 had the tournament not been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bosco are led by Yohaan D'Souza this year while another Yohaan (Panjuani) was a victorious skipper in 2023 and 2022, ably supported by Ayush Kharat and Arya Kamble in respective years.

Last week, the Bosco boys defeated their arch-rivals St Stanislaus (Bandra), in the semi-finals.

Also Read: Scottish flourish to enter MSSA U-16 Div I summit clash

Masterminding Don Bosco's football success from the sidelines is Leslie Machado, 69, who has been the school's football coach for the last 35 years. "One of the main reasons for us doing well is the foundation we have laid over the years. Our supremacy is a collective effort - players, coaches and support staff. The players train religiously even on their holidays. We nurture these kids right from the under-8 level. Now, other schools have also started to work early on the kids like us," Machado told mid-day.

Experiencing sporting adversity is inevitable, but how practitioners of sport deal with it, varies. Machado reckoned his boys display the right spirit to excel in such scenarios. "These boys are fighters, they never give up. With the influx of academies in schools, even other teams are becoming stronger. Despite that, we are able to do well. I believe for a team to perform well, we need to have not just one or two star performers, but all 16 players should be good," remarked Machado.

Leslie Machado

Savio D'Souza, the school's sports teacher for 27 years, pointed to commitment as being one of the reasons for Don Bosco's success. He said: "Our domination in inter-school football over the years is testament to dedication, talent and strong team ethos. The impressive and consistent success can be attributed to a combination of excellent coaching, a disciplined training regime, and a culture that values teamwork and perseverance. Sir Leslie is known for his dedication to the school football team across more than three decades. His commitment extends beyond coaching; often spending extra hours mentoring players individually, encouraging them to excel both on and off the field."

Meanwhile, though Fr Crispino D'Souza, (ex-principal and rector of Don Bosco High School and Don Bosco International School) is now based in Pune since May 2023, the fruits of his sporting passion continue to provide sporting nourishment.

Fr Crispino was happy to reveal a bit of history: "During the early 1990s when Fr Adolph Furtado returned from the USA, he started the sports division [A division]. It had 50-60 boys in a class, who were a part of various sporting disciplines. The sports boys had to pay a monthly fee [approximately R2,500] and in return got the best coaching. The school invested in the right coaches and trainers, and sports took off. A timetable was drawn and it had a huge impact, making them the No. 1 school in the city. This was followed from Class II till Class X. Fr Adolph's successors Fr Edward D'Souza, Fr Bosco D'Mello,
Fr Bernard Fernandes and I built on that."

Esteemed alumni

Like their present lot of sporting students, the school is also proud to have India cricketers Farokh Engineer, Ravi Shastri, Jatin Paranjape and Shreyas Iyer as their ex-students.

India's 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medal-winning hockey team member MM Somaya, who was Chief Operating Officer of the Bosco Sports Academy until recently, explained what makes Don Bosco different. "A robust structure of talent identification, coaching and exposure across multiple sports has made a huge difference. With the vagaries of sport showing that the final goal difference is also about how the stars align on the day, Don Bosco's well-equipped football stars will always be aiming for the sky."

View from an expert

Jatin Paranjape, Former India cricketer
Don Bosco, Matunga, is a school that lays a lot of emphasis on sports in addition to education. The fantastic sports infrastructure was the biggest lever for me. I started playing hockey, but was quickly inducted into the cricket team. The most important learning for me was that I could do both, sports and studies, with the right time management. If I missed a few classes because of cricket tours, our then Sports Head, Mr Patel would take my situation on board, but kept reiterating that I had to do well on the academic side too. Mr Kumar Tamhane, who turned out to be my first coach, spent a lot of time working on my game. He was kind yet firm about punctuality and team work. That my two boys study here is a source of great joy for me.

‘Amazing support from everyone'

Yohaan D'Souza, Skipper
‘The support we get from our coaches, especially Leslie [Machado] sir is just amazing. Also, our teachers are very helpful to students in the school's football, cricket, hockey, basketball and other sports teams. Leslie sir may be 69, but his fitness motivates us. He does all the drills with the same intensity as us'

‘Leslie sir has shaped us all'

Adair D'Souza, Top performer
‘It is the love for the sport along with the discipline and passion that has been invested in each child from a very young age that has played a huge role in the team's success. Our coach Leslie sir has shaped all of us and led us to do well in football. His contribution in our growth, both on and off the field, has been immense'