Olympian and India’s 1962 Asian Games gold-winning footballer dead
MUMBAI: Former India footballer Fortunato Franco, who was part of the Indian squad at the 1960 Rome Olympics and the gold medal-winning unit of the 1962 Asian Games, died in Goa on Monday. He was 84.
“He passed away early morning. He had been unwell,” Gabriel Franco, his nephew based in Mumbai, said.
Born in Colvale, Franco’s illustrious football career took off after he shifted from Goa to Mumbai. After representing Western Railway briefly, Franco was snapped up by the Tata Sports Club, where he shone as one of the country’s finest half-backs and won his club multiple titles. He also captained Maharashtra from 1959 to 1966, leading them to the 1963-64 Santosh Trophy title by beating Andhra Pradesh 1-0 in the final.
Franco was drafted into India’s squad for the 1960 Rome Olympics but didn’t feature in any of the country’s three games. Soon after, he began to make his mark in Indian football’s glittering years of the early 1960s.
Featuring alongside the stars of the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games squad that comprised Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee and Jarnail Singh, among others, Franco played an integral role in the team marching all the way to the top of the podium after beating Japan, Thailand, South Vietnam (in the semi-finals) and South Korea (final). In that 2-1 final victory against South Korea— against whom the Indians had lost in the group stage— Franco provided the assist for Singh to score India’s second goal.
It was Indian football’s last gold medal at the Asiad, one that Gabriel still has vivid memories of, thanks to his uncle. “I remember when he came back to Mumbai from Jakarta after the Asian Games with the gold medal, he had come to our house with it. It was one of my best memories growing up. He was also felicitated at the club,” Gabriel, who also played football for Air India through the 1970s and 80s, said. “Football was in my blood, I guess,” he said.
A serious knee injury derailed Franco in 1966, forcing a premature end to a blossoming international and domestic career. He finished with 26 international outings for India, according to the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Apart from the Asian Games success, Franco was part of the national team that was runners-up in the 1962 Asian Cup and finished second in the 1964 Merdeka Cup and third in its 1965 edition.
Franco continued his association with the Tatas, working in the company’s public relations department before retiring in 1999.
Franco moved back to Goa to spend his post-retirement days away from the bustling Mumbai streets. “He was very passionate about the game, and continued to be,” Gabriel said.