Fortunato Franco
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Colvale, Portuguese India | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 10 May 2021 (aged 84) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Goa, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Half back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Western Railways | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Tata | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1959–1966 | Maharashtra | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Salgaocar | |||||||||||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1960–1965 | India | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Fortunato Franco (1937 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian international footballer who played as a half back.[1]
Early and personal life
[edit]Franco was born in 1937 in Colvale in Goa, Portuguese India, moving to Mumbai at the age of six.[2]
Club career
[edit]Franco played club football with Western Railways, Tata, Maharashtra and Salgaocar.[2][3] He captained Maharashtra for eight seasons and won the 1964 Santosh Trophy with them.[3][4] He retired before the age of 30 due to a knee injury.[3]
International career
[edit]Franco was part of the India national team which appeared at the 1960 Olympics, although he did not appear at the tournament, and he won gold with India at the 1962 Asian Games.[3][5][6] He also played at the Merdeka Cup in 1964 (winning silver) and 1965 (winning bronze).[3][7] In total he earned 26 caps with the national team before retiring in 1965,[3] following his debut in 1960.[2]
Later life and death
[edit]After retiring from football in 1966, he worked for Tata Group as a senior manager in public relations, before retiring in 1999 and moving back to Goa.[2] He died on 10 May 2021, aged 84,[2] leaving behind a wife and two children.[3][7]
Honours
[edit]India
- Asian Games Gold medal: 1962[3]
- AFC Asian Cup runners-up: 1964[8][9]
- Merdeka Tournament runner-up: 1964;[10] third-place: 1965[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Fortunato Franco". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Indian Football: Former Olympian Fortunato Franco passes away | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Scroll Staff (10 May 2021). "Football: Fortunato Franco, member of gold-medal-winning Indian team at 1962 Asian Games, dies at 84". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Kapadia, Novy (27 May 2012). "Memorable moments in the Santosh Trophy". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ Subrahmanyam, V. V. (10 May 2021). "Fortunato Franco was one of the finest midfielders, says S. A. Hakim". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Sengupta, Somnath (13 July 2011). "Tactical Evolution of Indian Football (Part Two): Revolution Under Rahim Saab". thehardtackle.com. Kolkata: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Former Asiad gold medallist footballer Fortunato Franco dead | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. 10 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava. "The Indian Senior Team at the 1964 Tel Aviv Asia Cup". Indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Media Team, AIFF (15 August 2022). "Indian Football Down the Years: Looking back at the glorious moments". www.the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ "The Indian Senior Team at the 1964 Merdeka Cup". indiafootball.de. IndiaFootball. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ "The Indian Senior Team at the 1965 Merdeka Cup". indiafootball.de. IndiaFootball. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
External links
[edit]- 1937 births
- 2021 deaths
- Indian men's footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- India men's international footballers
- Maharashtra football team players
- Salgaocar FC players
- Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- 1964 AFC Asian Cup players
- Olympic footballers for India
- Asian Games gold medalists for India
- Asian Games medalists in football
- Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games
- Footballers at the 1962 Asian Games
- Mumbai Football League players
- Footballers from Goa
- People from North Goa district
- Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India
- Indian football biography stubs