Colaco was born on 22 June 1953 inPanjim to parents – Vincent Salvador Colaço and Clarina Dias Colaço. Having lost his father at a very young age, but never gave up on his ambitions of playingfootball, which he did right from a young age during his schooling at Don Boscos where Fr Joseph Casti and Fr Thomas, in particular, encouraged the footballer in the youthful Armando.According to Armando, it was Sir Edwin, Domnic, Wilson Paes, along with Fr Simon, Fr Edward and Fr Benedict who played an important role in his life as far as his early upbringing was concerned. Later in his life, his wife Juliana and daughter Genevieve have been his motivation and support.[5]
After gaining the necessary exposure with Don Bosco and Panjim Gymkhana, Armando, who was at the end of his teens, took a career-shaping step in the 1970–71 season when he was chosen to play forDempo for the first time, under coach Joseph Ratnam, who taught his wards how to play football with discipline. "That was a very important phase of my career as far as shaping the destiny of my football talent was concerned as I got picked for a big club – Dempo," Armando reminisced. Though he made Dempo his abode for the next 14 years to come, as a player, the hardworking Armando plied his trade with dedication and commitment before he hung his boots in 1985.[5]
A recipient of the State Kerkar award, Armando, had to look beyond his retirement as a player and it were two men – Alberto Colaço, the present AIFF secretary, and Agnelo Mascarenhas, who encouraged the just-retired Dempo player to move into football coaching. And thus began a new journey for Armando the coach. From 1985-88, the Curtorim-based trainer, essayed himself into coaching Salcete Football Club and soon guided the club to a win in Stafford Cup. Soon, Armando had a one-year offer fromSesa Goa, which he accepted with delight and during the 1988–89 season, the team won the Vitthal Trophy under his guidance. That actually set the tone for his coaching stints elsewhere as Armando, who was fast gathering moss, rolled on like a stone, and successfully coached the state U-21 Santosh team partnering Peter Vales and also Goa U-23 team at theBC Roy Trophy in the early 90s. That was after a year-long stint withDempo S.C. (1989–90) where he won the Pomes Cup and Scissors Cup.[5]
His success was noted asChurchill Brothers S.C. offered him the role of a coach first and then the Technical Director when Danny Maclaren was roped in as a coach during the 1994–2000 period. Switching his base from Dempo to Churchill in the 90s, Armando had announced his arrival as a seasoned coach with threeGoa Football League titles and anNFL runner-up trophy with Churchill Brothers and also a foray into theAFC Cup.[5]
In 2000, came a Clarion call from Mr Shrinivas V Dempo, offering Armando to coach his team, which had hit a trough in theNational Football League following a demotion.[7] Having agreed to accept the challenge, Armando greeted the opportunity to redefine the destiny of a football club, which under his patronage has risen from the dust to virtually touch the skies.[5]
Under Colaço, Dempos have managed to inscribe their name on four national league titles,Durand Cup,Federation Cup and he also managed Dempo to have been the first Indian club to reach the semi-finals of theAFC Cup, in 2008. Also he won Dempo threeI-League titles in2007–08 and2009–10 and2011–12. After the 2012–13 season where Dempo finished in 5th place, they parted ways with Armando Colaco with whom they had won 5 League titles.[8]
I have had nothing againstŠtimac, but I have often wondered whether Indian coaches would get a similar long run. Results cannot come overnight, particularly when a coach has a new philosophy and new ideas. You need to give him time. You need to be patient. I could have achieved results with the national team but didn't get time. They gave me three months for a start and then handed me a one-year contract, which I refused. I needed at least three years to implement my ideas and change the way the national team played. TheAIFF were not willing.
— Armando Colaco, on his managerial career as head coach ofIndia.[9]
On 17 May 2011, Colaço in an interview said that he had accepted the job to coach theIndian football team. The All India Football Federation confirmed the appointment after an Executive Committee meeting on 20 May.[10] On 10 July 2011, Colaço managed his first India match againstMaldives, the match ended 1–1. On 17 July 2011, Colaco won his first game as manager of India againstQatar 2–1 in a friendly. On 23 July 2011, Colaço suffered his first defeat, 0–3, at the hands of theUAE during a2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match atSheikh Khalifa International stadium,Al Ain City. In the return leg on 28 July 2011 inAmbedkar Stadium,Delhi Colaço managed to get India a 2–2 draw but could not stop India from falling 5–2 on aggregate. He was removed from his post shortly, and replaced bySavio Medeira in October 2011.[11][12]
On 14 November 2013, East Bengal appointed Armando Colaco as their new head coach.[13] On 15 May 2014, it was confirmed that Colaco would continue coaching the club for another year.[14]
Despite being given the chance to coach the team for the entire2014–15 campaign, it was announced that Colaco had been sacked by East Bengal on 18 February 2015.[15]
Since parting ways with East Bengal in 2015, Colaco had spells at Bardez FC,Sesa FA and more-recently withChurchill Brothers in theGoa Professional League. In August 2022, Colaco was appointed as new head coach of another Goa-based sideSporting Clube de Goa on a three-year deal.[16] At the inaugural edition ofI-League 3 in 2023, his club Sporting Goa crowned champions with a superior head-to-head record against fellow Goan side Dempo andSporting Club Bengaluru in play-offs, secured promotion to theI-League 2.[17][18][19]
Colaco has been widely praised for his tactical prowess and match reading abilities.[9] He is regarded as one of the first coaches in India to have brought the possession style football in the country. In his time at dempo, he employed a4-4-2 formation,[20] havingClimax Lawrence as a defensive midfield;Clifford Miranda,Joaquim Abranches,Anthony Pereira orNicolau Borges as wide midfielders with BrazilianBeto as supporting striker[21] behindRanti Martins, the main striker. Characteristics of that team was that they played with short passes along with sudden burst of wing play. This strategy helped Dempo to reach the semi-finals of the2008 AFC Cup, although losing toAl-Safa' SC of Lebanon in the semi-finals.
^Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015)."Time to regain lost glory".telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived fromthe original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved22 September 2021.
