Durand Cup Final 2019: "You need to aim for the stars," says golden boot winner Marcus Joseph

Marcus Joseph scored 11 goals in the Durand Cup
Marcus Joseph scored 11 goals in the Durand Cup

Gokulam Kerala FC claimed their maiden Durand Cup title after an inspiring 2-1 win over 16-time champions Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, August 24. Gokulam’s striker Marcus Joseph scored a brace and guided his team to a well-deserved victory. The Trinidadian finished the tournament with 11 goals from 6 matches which includes a couple of hat-tricks.

The foreigner started playing in India earlier this year. Since then he has been scoring goals regularly. Coming a long way from the Caribbean islands, winning the Durand Cup has fulfilled his dreams.

After steering Gokualm Kerala FC to the title, he said, “My dreams have come true, me and my colleague Andre Ettienne usually in our room we talk about the Durand Cup that we need this title. We came from far, we came from Trinidad and Tobago one month before and our dream was to lift the title.”

Marcus previously said that he aimed to score 15 goals in the competition, but he fell four short of it. When asked about the matter, he replied, “I scored 11 goals. You need to aim for the stars. Even if you don’t get there, you are in the sky."

It has been quite a journey for the footballer, who was offered a contract by Gokulam Kerala FC with nine goals left in the I-League last year. Since joining the club, the fortunes of the Kerala based outfits have changed a lot. It is quite a story of how he landed up in Indian soil.

“My agent called and told me that Gokulam Kerala FC is interested in a striker. The season before, I top scored in my country as well.”

"I was doing nothing, my season was finished, so they said that they have nine games left in the league, I thought it was a good opportunity. So I said that I’ll take it. I came here and took them out of relegation and came back again, took the Durand Cup. I won the golden boot,” said Marcus during the post-match press conference.

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Edited by Kingshuk Kusari