Masi and Krishna: the Fijian goal scoring history
Every nation has their key figures in the sport. Football is not an individual game and it is very important to have a strong and organised team to make the difference inside the pitch.
But the decisive players, those who make the difference in the game – defensively or offensively – make the path to history.
The goal is the most celebrated moment of football.
When we look to Europe and see the best players of the world we can recognise many outstanding players.
For Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo has already scored 99 times; for England Wayne Rooney netted 53 times; and for Germany Miroslav Klose scored 71 goals.
In South America, Lionel Messi scored 70 times for his country, Luis Suárez has 59 for Uruguay and the Brazilian and worldwide legend Pelé is the Brazilian all-time topscorer with 77 goals.
In the other side of the planet, Fiji certainly has its own talent.
Roy Krishna continues to spread his talent – first in Oceania and now in Asia.
He is the current captain of the
Vodafone team.
Many Fijian fans feel Krishna is the best ever player they have produced.
But some may still remember the quality of another player that made his career in Australia and gave lots of joy to the Fijian football fans: Esala Masi.
Striker Masi also for several years.
Fijian
Club career
national football captained
Fiji
Most of his club football was in Australia where he played for teams such as Newcastle Jets and Wollogong Wolves in the former National Soccer League – which was the top-tier of football in the country in that time.
Masi turned into a respected striker in Australia after scoring more than 40 goals during his time in the country.
Masi scored 32 goals in 52 matches for Fiji – the now 45-year old coach is the all-time top scorer of Fijian football, but his countryman Krishna
is not far away.
When Masi last played for the Bula Boys in 2005, Roy Krishna was still a young player – just 17 years old in that time.
Krishna’s Rise
But it did not take much time for the Fijian to catch the attention of foreign clubs after his good performances in Labasa.
During his years in Waitakere United, Auckland City and Wellington Phoenix the striker scored 107 goals.
For his national team, Krishna has scored 29 goals in 41 appearances – his last goal was in the bronze medal contest at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa.
Krishna has also made history for Fiji by scoring the first ever goal in the Olympics Men’s Football Tournamentm, when he scored against Mexico in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
The now 32-year old striker is currently playing in the Indian Super League and he is having a very good
ATK.
Krishna is just three goals away to tie the mark with Esala Masi as Fiji’s top scorer for the national team.
After scoring seven goals in 2019 for his country, he will have the opportunity to pursue Masi’s record in 2020.
Krishna may have time to add this honour to his career, since the peak of his career was in 2019 after being the best player of the Australian A-League and top goalscorer of the season.
Despite the records, both Masi and Krishna wrote fantastic stories and they are two important figures of the Fijian football that hopes for even better achievements in the next years.
It is a pity for football fans that both magnificent goalscorers could not play together for their homeland.
-Oceania Football Centre start for his new club