A hat-trick from Odafa Okolie after the regular 90 minutes gave Churchill Brothers the winners trophy of the 122nd Durand Cup with a 3-1 scoreline at the Ambedkar Stadium on Tuesday. Odafa scored all the goals in the final against Mohun Bagan and was also the highest goal scorer in the tournament,but the Nigerian born striker,like every other member in the Churchill contingent,unanimously credited unity and team effort for the success the Goan club have enjoyed in domestic football over the last three years. I do not think any of this should be credited to me alone, Odafa told Sportline after the match. Holding firmly onto his Man of the Tournament trophy,the striker said that he might be the one scoring the goals,but the rest of the ten men on the field also have a contribution. We are playing like one unit. Team effort is the real winner, he said. ContinuityArindam Bhattacharya,Churchill goalkeeper and a member of the national team,feels that though Odafa is the big difference in the team,the success is due to a largely unchanged squad over the past four years,much like Dempo Sports Clubs core group of players. Most of us are from the same batch of the Tata Football Academy,which means we have been together for the last eight years while most of the squad has remained unchanged in the last few seasons. I think that is showing on the football field now, Arindam said. It is like a family atmosphere in the dressing room, he added. More to comeWinning both the IFA Shield and the Durand Cup back-to-back in the space of 20 days,Carlos Pereira,coach of the victorious Churchill side,believes his team will not only be the best Indian club in the near future but also a force to reckon with on the Asian stage,especially with the prospect of playing in the AFC Cup this year after finishing I-League champions. Firstly,I would like to say that the players are a unified side and hence the success. I just act as the guide, he said,adding,This time we will be looking forward to defend the I-League and do one better in the AFC Cup too. Dempo showed the wayNeighbours Dempo SC were the first to make a mark at the Asian level in the last two seasons,becoming the first Indian club to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Cup in 2008. Though the epicentre of Indian football shifted towards Goa due to Dempos streak of firsts,Churchill have come out on top steadily on the national stage,winning three trophies last years I-League and winning both pre-season tournaments of 2009-the IFA Shield and the Durand Cup on the trot. We do not really think about what other clubs are achieving and what they arent. There is no yardstick that we compare ourselves on, Gouramangi Singh,the national left-back in the Churchill squad,said. It is important for us to continue to play good football and win more trophies,but most of important of all,the unity in the team must not be broken, he said.
