Former India international and coach Dereyk De Souza died of cardiac arrest at a Mumbai hospital late Thursday night. He was 69.
De Souza, whose elder brother, the late Neville, is even today remembered for his superb hat-trick in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, represented India in a few international matches as a sharp-shooting forward, most notably in the Asian qualifiers in 1960.
He represented Lusitanians and Caltex, both top Mumbai clubs during his time, before turning out for Mafatlal for several years.
He later turned to coaching youngsters and guided Mumbai's well-known club Mahindra and Mahindra, now known as Mahindra United, the National Football League champions, to a spate of major football tournament titles between 1988 and '91.
De Souza, who is survived by two sons, then coached Goa's Salgaocar Sports Club and guided the fortunes of the national team in the 1993-94 season under chief coach Jiri Pesek.
Of late, he was involved as an administrator with the Mumbai District Football Association and was a regular at all football matches at the Cooperage ground in south Mumbai.
The funeral will be held on Saturday.
