This music lover means business

By K. C. Vijaya Kumar

BANGALORE, APRIL 8. He loves soft music. But out there near the goalmouth it's always frenetic. Jules Alberto does not mind. And when he scored in the 74th minute against United Arab Emirates in the World Cup qualifier Group 8 match, Sree Kanteerava Stadium erupted. It was pleasant music to Indian football.

Jules Alberto smiled but disbelief still shadowed his eyes. ``I did not expect a goal but I was expecting the ball all the time. Vijayan was trying to score and a defender was pressing him. I also saw a defender right behind me and once I saw the ball, I just flicked it past him,'' he said.

The 24-year-old Salgaocar player represented India for the last two years and Sunday's goal was perhaps his best. However Alberto struck a modest tone - ``This is my fifth goal for India and I believe all of them were best.'' The Goan lad has come a long way since the days he kicked the ball in his village - Carmona. However a lone aspect remained static, his idolatory for George Beckham. He was 18 when he started playing in the Goan league and in 1997, he joined Salgaocar.

Walking away to the rest-room, his smile just widened. For Jules Alberto it will take some time for that goal to sink in. And I.M. Vijayan, the man who created the opportunity, was equally perplexed. ``It was confusing there, right ? but we scored,'' he said while running towards the team bus. But right now all that matters is what Baichung Bhutia said. ``He (Alberto) scored the goal, he scored the goal,'' said an excited Indian skipper.

It was an all-smiles post-match press conference and coach Sukhwinder Singh was ecstatic. ``The credit belongs to the boys. In modern football you got to stop the opponent from scoring. And we did it today. They (UAE) had a bad start while we began well and soon the boys started believing in their capabilities,'' he said.

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