Fortunato Franco
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1959–1966 | Maharashtra | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Salgaocar | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1965 | India | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Fortunato Franco (1937 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian international footballer who played as a half back.[1]
Early and personal life[]
Franco was born in 1937 in Colvale in Goa, Portuguese India, moving to Mumbai at the age of six.[2]
Club career[]
Franco played club football with , , Maharashtra and Salgaocar.[2][3] He captained Maharashtra for eight seasons and won the with them.[3] He retired before the age of 30 due to a knee injury.[3]
International career[]
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][4] He also played at the Merdeka Cup in (winning silver) and (winning bronze).[3][5] 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[]
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][5]
Honours[]
India[3]
- Asian Games: 1962
- AFC Asian Cup: 1964 runners-up
References[]
- ^ "Fortunato Franco". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Indian Football: Former Olympian Fortunato Franco passes away | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Scroll Staff. "Football: Fortunato Franco, member of gold-medal-winning Indian team at 1962 Asian Games, dies at 84". Scroll.in.
- ^ Subrahmanyam, V. V. "Fortunato Franco was one of the finest midfielders, says S. A. Hakim". Sportstar.
- ^ a b "Former Asiad gold medallist footballer Fortunato Franco dead | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India.
External links[]
- Fortunato Franco at FIFA
- Fortunato Franco at Olympedia
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- 1937 births
- 2021 deaths
- Indian footballers
- Association football midfielders
- India international footballers
- Maharashtra football team players
- Salgaocar FC players
- Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- 1964 AFC Asian Cup players
- Olympic footballers of India
- Asian Games gold medalists for India
- Asian Games medalists in football
- Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games
- Footballers at the 1962 Asian Games
- Asian Games competitors for India
- Footballers from Goa
- People from North Goa district
- Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India
- Indian football biography stubs