Presidents

If there ever was a man that embodied the personification of what it meant to be Goan, then Vasantrao, as he was lovingly called, was that man.

One of only three till date, to be immortalised in the form of a postage stamp by the state, the 1991 Padma Shri awardee was a stickler for perfection and would set the foundations of what would soon become the standard of Football in the country.

Sharing the pan-Goan passion for football and realising the social responsibility value of promoting a football club. He believed the most natural thing to do was, for him to help in the progression and development of local heroes and soccer-stars-in-the making through the then Groupo Desportivo de Bicholim.

During that time, the then patron would become famous was enforcing, an iron-clad caveats, as to team performance, player conduct and club management, bringing a professional outlook and setup, the likes of which the football industry had never witnessed before. One of the first great industrialists to truly have recognised the Goan player’s worth, he was not just a man who talked the talk but also walked the walk, compensating his team of players and officials, with some the sector’s best figures.

For the quarter-century thereafter during which he presided over the fortunes of the club, the team garnered increasingly greater sporting glory, as the trophies began the pile up, the inspiration was clear, the Golden Eagles, inspired as much by Vasantrao’s regal leadership as by his magnanimity. His ability to balance, Creativity with Discipline, is what would soon explains much of the Dempo SC success story.

Known to his many friends and admirers as Nagueshrao. His tenure at the helm of affairs at the group and the club would prove to be tragically short.

Exacting he was, a quality reminiscent of the great Vasantrao, but at the same time possessing a unique soul of generosity and humaneness, much like Vaikunthrao. A mix of two impeccable tastes.

Having witnessed and overseen the entire gamut of vicissitudes in the Dempo SC fortunes, from the acme of dizzying success in the mid-1980s to the dim dark days of the late 1990s. Nagueshrao would leave his mark at the club for the principles he would recast in stone. Unswerving to his ideals and those of his forebears in matters of football and club promoting.

His motto was simply ‘the game must go on, it’s got to be played’.

Nagueshrao made sure that the game and the club would go on. A decision that would change the landscape of Goan football forever.

Having inherited more than just the passion, concerns, and commitment from the past bosses, when it comes to matters of the team. He also inherited a sense of vision, something that helped him greatly, when he took over management of the club in its lean phase.

Known for bringing in a 21st century leadership mind-set, composed of, face-to-face man management and out-of-the-box thinking. Shrinivas has presided over the most successful phase of Dempo SC history.

Open-minded, balanced, exuding sincerity and transparency, he has inspired the joie de vivre so emblematic of the club’s on-field endeavours, an attitude ensured by building esprit de corps that binds players and officials alike.

His drive to popularise the beautiful game, to monetise football in India, and to walk the talk in matters of its development (grassroots football development, football nursery) marks him out to be the next great football promoter of the future, something that seems to run in the family.