| Full name | Dempo Sports Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Whites | ||
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Ground | Fatorda Stadium (Capacity: 27,300) |
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| Owner | Dempo Corp. | ||
| Chairman | Srinivas Dempo | ||
| Manager | Armando Colaco | ||
| League | I-League | ||
| 2010-11 | I-League, 3rd | ||
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| Current season | |||
Dempo Sports Club is a sports club based in Panjim, Goa. Its football side is one of India's most prominent football teams. The club is owned and sponsored by the Dempo group of companies. Popularly known as ‘the whites’, the team has been a constant performer in all the national football championship and gained immensely popularity in the last four decades of its existence.[1]
The team has several accolades and honors in its kitty. In the 2004-05 season, the club won its maiden National Football League title. They won the league again in the 2006-2007 season and followed it with the two I-League triumphs in 2006-07 in its inaugural version and then in 2009-2010.
Many famous players of the national football team of the country have once been associated with this team. Players of prominence on the team include Indian nationals Climax Lawrence, Clifford Miranda, Mahesh Gawli and foreign players like Ranty Martins Soleye of Nigeria and Beto of Brazil. The head coach of the club is Armando Colaco.
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Dempo Sports Club began as Bicholim Football Club which was a top First Division league side in the 1960s. Football lovers in the country remember the Bicholim Football Club as one of the most talented football club in the country. Players like Subhash Sinari, Bernard Olivera, Tolentino Serrao, Bhaskar, Kalidas Gaad, Manohar Pednekar, Bhai Pednekar, Ganpat Gaonkar and Pandurang Gaonkar are still remembered to the Bicholim Football Club on a completely different standard compared to the other sports club existing at that moment.
Bicholim Sports Club was later adopted by Dempo Souza in 1967 and was renamed Dempo Souza Sports Club. Even then the team remained one of the strongest team in the country with players like Eustaquio, Dass, Balaguru, Olavo, Colaco, Inacio, Felix Barreto, Thapa, Ramesh Redkar, Socrates Carvalho, Sadanand Asnodkar and Tulsidas Alornekar. In 1969, the team stood as the first runner up in the Vasco Sports Club in the Senior Division League.
The Dempo Souza Sports Club finally became Dempo Sports Club, after Dempo bought Mr Michael D’’Souza's stake in the Dempo Souza enterprise. However, Dempo Sports Club prospered when Vasantrao Dempo, the chairman of the House of Dempo, extended his benefaction to football team in an extensive manner. Dempo then came at par with the other business houses, like Salgaocar, Agencia Commercial Maritima, Shantilal and Sesa Goa who had their own teams.[2]
Dempo made Indian Football history when they were one of the first teams to participate in the newly formed I-League. They soon managed to make more history after winning the first ever I-League season in 2007-08. Due to their success in the I-League Dempo participated in the 2008 AFC Cup where they shocked people by making the Semi-Finals after defeating Singapore side Home United FC 4-3 in the quarter-finals.[3]
After winning the 2007-08 I-League season Dempo participated in the 2009 AFC Champions League west asian qualification stage were they lost to United Arab Emirates side Sharjah SC 3-0.[4] After getting knocked out of the AFC Champions League Dempo failed to win the 2008-09 I-League by finishing 4th in the table.[5]
The 2009-10 I-League started brightly as with wins over big rivals Churchill Brothers SC, Mohun Bagan AC, and Mumbai FC. The victory was over goan rivals Churchill Brothers SC which Dempo SC won 4-2. At the end of 26 games Dempo SC came out as champions for the 2nd time in the I-League with a final total of 54 points.[6]
The 2010-11 I-League season started of with three losses so far against Kingfisher East Bengal FC, Salgaocar SC, and surprisingly Air India FC. Later in the year Dempo played in the AFC Champions League for the second time ever in their history in the 2011 AFC Champions League west asian qualification round where they lost 2-0 to Qatar side Al-Sadd. After Dempo were knocked out of the AFC Champions League they entered the group stage of the 2011 AFC Cup. They started the campaign with a 2-1 win over Al-Tilal from Yemen.[7] At the end of the 2010-11 I-League season the defending champs scored the biggest margin victory in the I-League, 14-0 over Air India FC. [8]
The Dempo Sports Club crest is the official logo for Dempo Corporations sports clubs that it owns. The logo includes the words Goa (name of the state Dempo is based in) and Dempo Sports Club (team name). The logo also includes a picture of a golden bird in the middle of the crest.
The official colors of Dempo Sports Club are Blue and White. Ever sense there creation Dempo's home colors have always involved blue, mainly with the shirts while the shots were always either blue or black. The away colors were always all white but then in 2011 when Dempo unveiled there away kit the shirt at black strips on it. The shorts however remain the same.
As of 2011 Dempo SC has been playing its football at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa. Fatorda Stadium opened in 1989 and Dempo SC has been using it sense for all its I-League matches. There have been rumors however that state that Dempo SC could soon very well create its own stadium in Panjim, Goa although not much has been released on the subject.
The club hired their first professional manager in 2000, Armando Colaco. Previous managers have been amateur coaches.
Only competitive matches are counted. Wins, losses and draws are results at the final whistle; the results of penalty shoot-outs are not counted.
| Picture | Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armando Colaco | India | June 2000 | present | 202 | 101 | 52 | 38 | 370 | 209 | 50.00 |
At the moment Dempo Sports Club's main sponsor and owner is Dempo Mining Corporation Limited. The club has been owned by Dempo sense there creation. As part of the sponsorship from Dempo the club also named itself Dempo Sports Club and is classed as an institutional club in that case.
The finances given to the club are very limited which meant that the club was forced to spend less on infrastructure and proven players and spend more on local youth development.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Includes Players who are mostly used for GPL
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Dempo SC has won tons of awards and prestigious trophies in past few years. It has emerged as the winner of the several national trophies in the last few years. The club has won the prestigious Indian League in 2004, 2005 respectively. It also emerged as a winner in the recently concluded inaugural I-League 2007-08. The club has also been a consistent performer in the other prestigious championships like the Federation Cup, Durand Cup and the IFA Shield. The club has been the winner of the prestigious Durand Cup in 2006 and Federation Cup in 2004. The club had been four time winner of Rovers Cup and record eleven times winner of the Goa League.
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