Roland Collaco
A victim of politics
*By Norman DA COSTA
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of standing on the podium with a shiny
medal dangling around his or her neck. Roland Collaco wasn’t any different.
Getting to the Olympics in Munich in 1972 would have put an exclamation point
on a brilliant career for possibly Africa’s finest field hockey goalkeeper at
the time. He was the only player on the Uganda squad assured of a seat on that
flight to the Bavarian city, but as fate would have it, politics reared its
ugly head and shattered his dreams. That year Idi Amin’s Uganda was gripped in
the midst of a political turmoil and the government demanded the Olympic squad
include a number of African players.
Unfortunately, Collaco, who passed away
at the age of 78 in Mississauga on
Sept. 5, 2013, was unceremoniously left out in the cold. “We were all so
stunned when we heard Roland was dropped,’’ recalled Ajit Singh, captain of
Kampala Sikh Union, who along with the
rest of his teammates often found Collaco an impenetrable force in the Kampala
Goan Institute net. “He was the unluckiest man ever to miss out on the Olympics
because of politics, especially since he
was the main reason we qualified for Munich,’’ added Ajit.
Collaco was at his brilliant best in Lusaka in
1971, stonewalling Zambia,
South Africa and favoured Egypt
in the qualifiers to help Uganda grab one of the two Olympic berths assigned to Africa
behind perennial champions
Kenya. To say Collaco
was devastated at being
left out would
be an understatement. “He
was very, very hurt at the
time,’’ said his wife Eurema, also a former Uganda international. Born in
Nairobi, Roland moved to Uganda with his parents in 1951 and four years later made his international
debut and went on to earn more than
a 100 caps.
Goalkeepers normally wear No.1 on their
jerseys and Collaco’s number was symbolic of his importance on the Kampala G.I.
and the national team squads. He
retained that No.1 position and also captained Uganda until migrating to Canada in 1972. What differentiated Collaco from other netminders of that era
was that he was bold and utterly
fearless. Only other did not wear a facemask,
was Kenya’s Jack Simonian, who also doubled as a world-class rally driver.
Collaco
usually saved his
best for the Easter holidays when the top clubs descended on Nairobi
to contest the M.R. de Souza Gold Cup,
the Blue Riband of East African hockey. After
years of coming close, Collaco finally backstopped a talented and
experienced Kampala Goan Institute to the coveted Gold Cup in 1957 in a
stirring replay against Nairobi Sikh Union after the first encounter ended in a
goalless draw. Collaco, of course, kept the Sikh offence at bay by pulling off
two superb saves before goals by Rennie Rodrigues and Polly Pereira carted
the trophy across the border to Uganda for the very first time. Collaco also led Toronto
Lions to the inaugural GOA Gold Cup in Toronto in 1974.
Al Mathias, a KGI and national team
teammate of Collaco’s for several years, termed his play as “brilliant and
terrific” and so did Nicky De Mello, who tried to lure Collaco to his newly-formed
Horizons Sports Club. “Roland was really excellent and so daring,’’ said De
Mello. “He was never afraid and would dive every each way to stop the ball. He
was a much-sought after player.” These
same sentiments were also echoed by Ajit Singh and Mathias and several
other players. Collaco, of course, was also a first-class soccer goalkeeper and
it was his stint with Salgaocar, one
of Goa’s leading teams that helped him hone his diving skills in hockey.
Fans and opposing teams may have resented him, but
they had nothing but the highest respect for him as was
evidenced by the more than 350 who attended his funeral. Collaco who leaves
behind his wife Eurema, was father of Conrad and Paula, father-in-law of Sylvan
and Alison, grandfather to Mathew, Sara, Jacob
and Grace and brother of Thelma Sidoli (Renato) and Remy.
*Former sports editor of the Daily
Nation not only reported on Roland, but
also played against him on several
occasion for the
Railway Goan Institute
in Gold Cup matches.
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