Jamshedpur FC

Birthday boy Augustin Fernandes talks about his playing career and how it all began in a candid interview.

A career that was prompted from the football fields of Goa where he played with his friends to becoming a professional football player, representing top clubs in India and featuring for the Indian national football team, Augustin Fernandes narrates his story to Jamshedpur FC Media. Here are the excerpts from his exclusive interview:

On how his engagement with football began…

I was 12 years old when I first started playing football in Santacruz, Goa. I used to play for fun, really. I used to play all sports with my friends and in school. In fact, my school had a reputed volleyball team and I was a good volleyball player back then.

However, while playing with my friends, I kept honing my capabilities in football and one day my friends and family guided me to attend a trial for Dempo SC U18. Dempo was a huge club back then, and getting into it was no easy job, especially with the amount of competion that was there. But despite the competition, I was fortunate to have been selected for Dempo U18 and that’s how it all began.

On the struggles of facing competition at an early age…

I could not give my 100% when I was with the Dempo U18 team as my exams somehow always clashed with match dates. And the competition was high out there. Some of the players like Gabriel Fernandes, who is a good friend of mine, alongwith many others are still playing at top clubs across the country.

On the turning point of his career…

Dempo was a good learning experience for me and I came out as a better player than I was with all the top players of Goa playing with me. I joined a Goa second division team named Panjim footballers where I used to train with players my age as well as the senior players of the club. I also played for the club in my village in St. Sebastien.

The turning point came at TACA Goa U20 tournament where I participated with St. Sebastien. We were participating just for fun. We assembled as many players as possible from our surrounding areas and formed a team to play there.

Our match was scheduled against SESA Football Academy, which is considered as a top football academy in Goa. And I still remember the specifics of the match. It was played in Calungate, the kick-off time was 4 PM and my team reached only at 3:45 PM to play against a well-prepared and professional SESA Football Academy team. And yet, we almost won that game. We were leading 2-1 and it ended in a 2-2 draw due to conceding in the final few minutes.

And that match I can say was the turning point as I got scouted into the SESA Junior team. That is where my football career began.

On progressing his career from there on…

I learned a lot at SESA. My time with the junior team was absolutely fantastic as we won almost all tounaments we participated in. There were players like Adil Khan, Gabriel Fernandes, Jason, Pratesh Shirodkar etc. from that batch, some of whom are still around.

After graduating from the youth set-up I had a chance to join the big clubs in Goa, but I decided to stay with SESA to improve further.

Later-on, ofcourse I progressed to the bigger teams. I started with Salgaocar where I played five seasons, and later also played for ATK and FC Pune City before making a move to Jamshedpur FC.

On getting selected for the Indian national team…

I remember I was with ATK back then and I was called up by Stephen Constantine to be part of the squad. My debut was against Guam in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where we won 1-0. But my breakthrough into the national team came during the SAFF Championship. Anas and Jhingan unfortunately faced some injuries and the Head Coach entrusted his faith in me during the tournament.

It was a great feeling to win a trophy with my national team and I was regularly called up before my injury.

On the injury set-back and joining Jamshedpur FC…

It was a tough time as I had multiple major injuries on my shoulder and knee. I was out for almost a year and I took another year just to get back things to normal. After my year out, I signed with ATK in 2017-18 and training with the team got me to 80-90% fitness. But I could not feature for them as I could not become match fit during the season.

I am thankful to Jamshedpur FC who gave me an opportunity later as I started playing regularly and featured in 3 matches towards the end of last season.

This season was the first time in 3 years I got a full pre-season under my belt and I finally feel at my 100% best. And I am sure this will be a season to look forward to, for not just me, but for the team as well as the fans.

On the Jamshedpur FC fans…

They are just fantastic aren’t they. I will never forget the night I scored the equalizer against Bengaluru FC, the match we went on to win 5-1. And I just have one message for the fans and that is that we need their support and want them to come and rally behind us. They are our 12^th man and it is for them and with them that we want to win matches and maybe even the Indian Super League.