The city’s legendary footballer and coach John Rosario Alphonso succumbed to coronavirus on Saturday evening. The former Junior Indian striker Alphonso, 71, is survived by his wife Leonita, son Zico and daughter Joyna.
John Rosario Alphonso
The dashing forward, represented Mahrashtra in the National Championship for the Santosh Trophy in 1974, 1975 and 1979 and donned the Junior Indian colours in 1974 having played against West Germany and Russia.
Alphonso had played for all the top football teams in Bombay. He started his career with the Goans’ Sports Association (GSA) and later played with the Indian Cultural League (ICL) before moving to the bigger Harwood League teams like Orkay Mills and Mahindra & Mahindra before he reached the peak when he joined Mafatlal Sports Club and played only one season for the club. It was quite a successful season as he helped Mafatlal win the Harwood League and he then switched to another top team Tata’s Sports Club, the team with which he finished his playing career.
He continued to stay in touch with the sport with several coaching assignments, which included leading lower division teams and also college and school teams, in particular the St. Francis D’Assisi school team and guided the team towards winning plenty of silverware.
Alphonso, who was born in Velim, Goa, moved to Bombay (Mumbai) at the young age and studied at the St. Francis D’Assisi High School, Borivali and was a boarder with the school. He was captain of the school team which clinched a grand double winning both the MSSA Inter-School League and the Ahmed Sailor Cup in 1967.
His passing away has left Mumbai football fraternity poorer. The funeral rites were performed in Borivali on Sunday evening.