MRF Soccer Foundation: Good substance that died
Madras Rubber Factory entered the football arena in Goa when it took over Varca Sports Club, a First Division League side, in 1986-87. It was known as MRF-Varca Sports Club but subsequently it was named as MRF Soccer Foundation.
MRF having set up one of their major plants here in Goa, decided to contribute back to the youth of the State by means of a sports.
And it was decided that the game of football was the best medium. MRF became a strong side, when it acquired the services of as many as five outstanding players from Salgaocar Sports Club, after the latter had won the Federation Cup for the first time in 1988. Savio Madeira, Hercules Gomes, Cyril Dias, Mariano Dias and Mario Scares left Salgaocar to join forces with MRF. John Araujo and Chandrakant Naik, the two internationals from Dempo also joined the team to make it a formidable outfit. But Salgaocar got the better of MRF when the two met in the quarter final league match of the 1989 Federation Cup tournament at Coimbatore.
MRF claimed the Goa championship when they won the Super league in 1989. They defeated Dempo by a solitary second half goal scored by international Ashok Fadte, in the crucial match to finish at the top in the Super League.
MRF trounced Vasco Sports Club, 3-0, and prevailed over Sesa Goa by a solitary goal to have a tally of seven points from four matches. Dempo finished runner-up with five points.
MRF had a remarkable record for the 1991-92 season. The team performed extremely well in the double leg First Division League under the guidance of T.K Chatunni, the former Vasco stopper and coach of the Kerala Police team that won the Federation Cup in 1990. They showed greater consistency than any other side to win the title for the first time with 28 points from 18 matches. They also lifted the Taca Goa for the first time, defeating the youthful Sa1cete Football Club by a solitary first half goal scored by Cyril Dias. MRF had lost the Taca Goa final to Dempo in the 1990-91 season. Salcete, too, had lost the final of the same tournament to Varca Sports Club in 1986.
Praveen Fernandes, John Araujo, Marian Dias, Hercules Gomes, Mathew D''Costa and Thomas Kushboo stoodout for MRF. Barring the first leg match against Dempo, which they lost, 0-3, MRF always looked like the winner, and eventually they emerged victorious. MRF scored a deserving 3.-1 win over Dempo in the second leg.
MRF, however had the best record against Salgaocar. They scored a fluent 3-0 victory over the former Federation Cup champions, in the first leg of the First Division League and also trounced them by an identical margin in the Taca Goa semi-fmal. They scored all the three goals within a span of 15 minutes in the second half on both the occasions. The two sides shared two goals in the second leg league match.
The league was a highly competitive affair with Dempo occupying the first place in the first leg with 16 points from 9 matches. MRF and Sesa had 13 each, but the better goal difference helped MRF take second place. .
Dempo dropped a point to Customs in the very first match of the second leg and thereafter suffered three consecutive defeats against Churchill Brothers, Sesa and MRF.
This took MRF to the top and they remained firmly in the saddle till the end.
Customs shocked Sesa Goa with a solitary goal victory in the second leg. Sesa also crashed to defeats against Salgaocar and Agacaim. The loss to Agacaim, a side which was later relegated to the second Division, was mainly responsible for depriving Sesa of the title.
MRF earned full points against Customs and Agacaim in the second leg and this made all the difference in the end. Three successive defeats in the first leg against Sesa, MRF and MPT shattered Salgaocar''s hopes of retaining the league championship.
MRF achieved a fine double, defeating Salcete in the Taca Goa final. Sa1cete, which had lost the services of 12 players to various clubs the previous season, shocked Sesa with a 2-1 victory in the quarter-fmal and maintained its giant killing feat by defeating holders Dempo by a solitary goal scored by Roque Carneiro in the semi-final.
All in all, this had been a highly successful season for MRF. They were a physically fit and technically sound side. Chatunni himself was an indefatigable defender during his playing days. The rubbermen had the nerves of steel and the iron will to win the title.
MRF, however had to rest content as runner-up to Salgaocar in the First Division league during the 1992-93 season. They started their campaign on an auspicious note, when they thrashed Dempo 3-1, in the very first match, at Nehru Stadium. A fine hat-trick by Praveen Fernandes was the highlight of the facile victory.
MRF became a stronger side by acquiring the services of the international forward Roy Barreto. But they suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Churchill Brothers and could not have a smooth sailing thereafter. In the end a difference of seven points separated them from the champion, Salgaocar. After the sudden death of the young and sports loving chairman of the company, the headquarters at Madras had a different approach to sports and with a review in their outlook, the MRF Soccer Foundation was dismantled.
However in their short span of life, which lasted for about a decade, the Madras Rubber Factory Soccer Foundation was a force to reckon with in Goan football and had begun making headlines around the country. It was unfortunate that the Foundation had to be wrapped up.
