by Abhishek Gujral

There's not really much left to say is there? December 5, 2004 shall forever be etched in the minds of Indians the world over, as the black day of Indian football. One still cannot believe that Brazilian Cristiano Sebastiao de Lima Junior is not with us. As expected, the dirty blame game has begun. So who is to blame? Mohun Bagan keeper Subrata Pal? The poor medical facilities? The referee? Or maybe the officials of Dempo SC for not travelling with a qualified doctor? I don't know. But what does amaze me is how clubs in India spend millions on quality players but do not care about adequate medical facilities. What's more, why do I get the feeling that things will still take time to change? But then, that's India for you...

In such circumstances, one does feel small talking about the actual tournament, but the 26th Federation Cup did throw up some very interesting results. There were two shocking upsets on the opening day, with defending champions Mahindra United and Salgaocar SC both crashing out. Mahindra, under new coach Syed Nayeemuddin clearly have a lot of work to do. Salgaocar too need to buckle up soon before the NFL starts.

What was clearly one of the talking points of the tournament was Tollygunge's brilliant showing. The small time club, on a shoe string budget, continues to shock one and all with inspired performances. The team's trump card this season could be former East Bengal star Suley Musah. The powerful defender, likely to play as a defensive midfielder for Tollygunge, was a key performer.

The biggest shock of the tournament came in the quarterfinals, when Sporting Clube de Goa stunned giants East Bengal by the solitary goal, a repeat of their feat at the 2001 event in Chennai. Once again, it was their flamboyant Nigerian striker MacPherlin Dudu Omagbemi to the rescue. The Goans however could not maintain the good form as they lost out to Mohun Bagan in the semis.

Of course, even if overshadowed by tragedy, one must admire Dempo's efforts to win the much coveted title for the first time. The main star for the side, besides Cristiano, was Nigerian striker Randy Martins Soleye. He is proving to be quite a handful, even notching up a hattrick in the semis, against Tollygunge. All in all, a good solid performance by Dempo, which shall now see them in the big league, being India's 2nd representative in the AFC Cup.

Not much more one can say really, except that may God bless the departed soul and give his family strength to face the pain. As far as we are concerned, the IndianFootball.Com team, you are a legend and shall live on forever. We will miss you, Cristiano.