Africa-Press – Seychelles. Back row from left to right: Barry Furneau, Charles Mousbé, Will Mein, Wills Agathine, Marc Chang Lam, Ulric ’Keker’ Mathiot, Gabriel Dogley, Ange ‘Ti Ange’ Dubignon, Romeo Quatre and François Finesse Front row from left to right: Arsene Ladouce, Bernard
Seychelles has known a number of great sportsmen and women over the years. Where are they and what have they been doing since they hang up their boots.
Seychelles NATION is dedicating this fortnightly series under the heading ‘The good old days, the glory days…’ to revive memories of their achievements and honour these former Seychellois greats who have become coaches, administrators or are just living a simple life away from their once loved sport.
Our first invitee of the series is Vincent ‘Tolor’ Dorasamy whom we met at his home in Belonie last Thursday.
If you want to feature in this series, don’t hesitate to contact us on 4385775.
‘Tolor’ the free-kick specialist
Do you remember the former St Louis and Seychelles midfielder with the long range shots and a knack for scoring beautiful free-kicks?
I guess you already know that we are talking about Vincent Dorasamy nicknamed ‘Tolor’.
St Louis supporters and football fans of the 1980s onwards would remember Vincent playing alongside his brother, striker Bernard Dorasamy, mercurial winger Robin Mousbé, goalkeeper Ange ‘Ti Ange’ Dubignon, defenders Nigel Hertel, Barry Furneau, Alex Labiche and Marc Mathiot, fellow midfielders Will Mein, Wills Agathine and Paul Khan to name just a few.
Before joining St Louis in 1981, ‘Tolor’ played for Youth Bombers and Barclays Bank.
“Upon joining St Louis in 1981, I asked myself if I would ever get the chance to play for the team as there were many quality players around. But I was hungry to get some playing time. So I worked hard in training ‒ both in group and individually ‒ and challenged the established players,” ‘Tolor’ told Sports NATION.
He added: “I say to everyone that St Louis are the best club I played for. The club meant a lot not only to the players but to the supporters and all the people involved. The fans appreciated everything the players did and even if we lost a game they would congratulate you for a good display. You could feel the love and togetherness with the supporters. We had a good crop of players who were hungry and with no egos.”
The day I met ‘Tolor’ another former St Louis striker, Jude Mohideen, had come to check on him and the two could not help but reminisce the good old days with St Louis as the interview proceeded.
‘Tolor’ added: “It was a great honour for me to be able to wear this jersey for such a long period of time. I did it with pride and passion.
“Thanks to all fans and supporters who carried and supported me with their applause and cheers. And thanks to all the critics for their extra motivation.
“At the very end I would like to say thank you very much to all my coaches. They made me the player I was and the free-kick specialist many knew me as. We have written a success story for a long time.”
What is ‘Tolor’ up to nowadays?
“Nothing much,” he responded.
“I am at home most of the time now. I rarely go out. I was diagnosed with a cancer last year and I am following my treatment. I went to MIOT hospital in India last year for further treatment. I thank all those who have helped me psychologically, mentally, physically and financially during the time when I was going through a rough patch.
“Some days, I wake up feeling weak and since my wife goes to work and children go to school, I need someone to cook for me as I can’t stand the heat from the oven. I am still waiting for a response from the authorities to get the support of a day carer. Otherwise, I am at home and spend time with my family. I would welcome any help I receive,” added the 60-year-old.
Best moments in football
‘Tolor’ has scored many goals from free-kicks in his career, but the one which probably has had the most impact was against Malagasy club Cosfap in the old African Champions Cup (now African Champions League).
It was in 1989 and St Louis, the first team during the regionalisation era to compete in Africa, went past the first hurdle of the old African Champions Cup (now African Champions League) with a 1-0 away win over Cosfap of Madagascar.
After the two teams played a goalless draw at Stad Popiler, ‘Tolor’ scored with his trademark free-kick to earn the Saints qualification to the first round. Upon the team’s return home, fans went to the airport to give him and the rest of the team a hero’s welcome. St Louis then lost on identical score 0-1 at home and away to Fire Brigade of Mauritius in the first round of the competition.
They competed in the annual competition every year until 1992.
He also formed part of the Seychelles national team who won the bronze medal at the Third Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in 1990 in Madagascar. The other members of the team were: Bernard Dorasamy, Robin Mousbé, Ange Dubignon, Gonzague Boniface, Dave Fred, Justin Marie, Paul Khan, Bernard Toussaint, Marc Mathiot, Alex Labiche, Charlie Hoareau, Juel Ah-Kong, Robert Morel, Nigel Hertel, Ralph Jean-Louis, Ulric Mathiot, Simon Françoise, Jude Mohideen, Marc Adolphe and Roland Mémé.
“Each time I was on the pitch was my best moments. I enjoyed every minute I played. I chose to be a footballer and I still love the game. Scoring goals and making assists always bring you a good feeling, but just the fact that you are part of the team brings you joy and you have to sweat for the team. I played as a right winger and loved running down the flanks to send in crosses for the attackers to bombard the opponents’ goal. But I disliked running back to help in defence and my teammates did not appreciate that. But since they knew what kind of player I was, they covered in for me,” explained ‘Tolor’ who has played against some of the best club teams in the Indian Ocean and Africa like AFC Leopards of Kenya, MBC of Somalia, Young Africans of Tanzania and St Pierre of Reunion.
Asked if he has any advice for the new generation of sportsmen and women, ‘Tolor’ replied: “The best advice is to train, train and train. On top of loving your sport, you should love training and doing a lot of repetitions. It is the only way to achieve success. There’s no other way around it. Remember only those who train hard and heed advice make it to the top. There’s no harm in partying once in a while, but don’t make it a habit as you have to train even harder the following day to get rid of the excess food and alcohol.
“I would also like to see more young Seychellois playing the game of football instead of foreigners. The young players have all the facilities and they need to prove their worth,” said ‘Tolor’ who won 10 league titles during the time of regionalisation with St Louis in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and classification league in 1993-94 with the return of club sports here.
St Louis had also won the league title in 1979 and 1980, while Mont Fleuri claimed the title in 1984.
St Louis also won the FA Cup in 1988, but reached the final a number of times only to lose to underdog teams.
“I’ve won everything in football in Seychelles except the best player title,” concluded ‘Tolor’.
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