The first Indian soccer player picked to play in the coveted Brazilian league has been released by his club after spending just 21 minutes on the field, his manager said yesterday.
Romeo Fernandes, 22, was taken on loan by Brazilian club Atletico Paranaense from Goa earlier this year following a training partnership agreement with the All India Football Federation.
In his first appearance for the club, the winger came on as a substitute in the 69th minute of a match in the Parana State League last month, but has since been benched.
Photo: AFP
Goa media manager Rhys Mascarenhas confirmed Fernandes, whose six-month contract was due to expire next month with the provision of an extension until December, had returned home.
“It was Romeo’s decision to go to Brazil and entirely his decision to request the club to release him,” Mascarenhas said. “He did not even play a full half for the club, so there was no point in him hanging on. Romeo is on the rolls of FC Goa and was loaned to the Brazilian club. His immediate task will be to be picked for the Indian team.”
Paranaense were quoted in an Indian newspaper saying Fernando had been released to return to Goa with a view to playing for his nation in World Cup qualifiers.
The Indian Express said Fernando’s move to Brazil had been seen by some “more as a marketing gimmick” than a genuine transfer.
India’s English coach Stephen Constantine, who left Fernandes out of the national team roster for the World Cup qualifiers, last week said: “The door is open for everyone, but certainly not for a player who has gone to Brazil for somebody else’s benefits.”
India languish in 147th place in the world rankings, but the cricket-mad nation is due to host the under-17 soccer World Cup in 2017.
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