Veteran footballer and Santosh Trophy winner ‘Kaka’ Vincent passes away in Chennai at 84

CHENNAI: He comes from the foremost sporting family in the State. All his six siblings are national-level sportspersons – two of them Olympic medallists in Hockey.

Despite being good at hockey himself, he chose to pursue football, going on to represent Tamil Nadu and Indian Railways, with whom he won the Santosh Trophy, which has eluded Tamil Nadu till date.

On Sunday, early morning, Tamil Nadu and Indian Railways Footballer and ICF’s football coach, VJ Vincent breathed last at his home in Alandur due to health complications. He was 84 years old.

A stopper during his playing days, and later a disciplined coach with ICF (Integral Coach Factory), he was fondly called as ‘Kaka’ Vincent by the football fraternity. “We were seven brothers. All of us were sports persons, predominantly hockey. Lawrence was a boxer and has fought internationally. My elder brother Vincent chose football. Even my son pursued football inspired by my brother,” said VJ Phillips, former captain of the Indian Hockey team and Olympian.

Incidentally, Vincent’s son, John Marcus took up hockey in the footsteps of his much-accomplished uncles. Marcus fondly remembers his father chiding him for not upping the game like his brothers. Vincent’s elder brother, Peter, is a triple Olympic medallist.

The Indian national colours might have eluded Vincent, but being a mainstay in the Indian Railways, as one of the main 11, is considered a monumental feat. “During his active playing days, in the 1960s, it was tough to break into the Indian Railways football team than the Indian national team. Vincent was a mainstay and a solid stopper back,” said Victor Samson, a football referee.

When Tamil Nadu made the finals of the Santhosh Trophy for the first time in 1972, Vincent was part of the team, but the team could not prevail. The trophy has eluded the state till date.

After his active playing days, Vincent took to coaching, and was an assistant coach of the ICF football team. He walked the talk with his players as far as instilling discipline is concerned. “Practice used to start at 6.30 am. Vincent (sir) used to be on the ground before 6 am.

He takes the earliest train from St Thomas Mount station to Chetpet, and cycles to the stadium. He did this until his retirement,” recalled S Sathyamoorthy, a former player at ICF.

Vincent cycled every day until his last days. “He always kept himself active by cycling. Recently, he had difficulty walking because of his old age, but he was comfortable cycling. I was about to buy him a knee cap,” Marcus told DT Next.

Vincent’s nephew, Martin Phillip, looked up to his uncle for inspiration, both in sports and life. When his father (Phillips) was at the peak of his playing days, it was Vincent who took care of Martin, trained him and guided him.

“People say that he used to steal the ball from the opposition like a crow with his headers,” Martin recalled referring to Vincent’s moniker ‘kaka’, and added, “Kaka Vincent is no more.”