Even at the age of 62 Djair Miranda Garcia is waiting for his ‘dream assignment’. That is to work with the Indian team. He will not even bother if assigned to work with any age-group Indian team. 

The Brazilian fitness coach has erased doubts about his performance from all quarters in the Indian football fraternity in his last 16 years of successful journey. 

It was a United Sports SC initiative that set Garcia's arrival in Indian football in 2008 and started working for the team. Then his journey was marked off with offers from India's premier teams like ATK, Mohun Bagan, and East Bengal. Garcia was with Gokulam FC for four years from 2019 to 2023 and presently he is working as the fitness trainer of Churchill Brothers. 

The unsung hero whose expertise helped several footballers to recover from their respective injuries regrets also being ignored by the All India Football Federation. 

He says, "Kalyan Chaube the AIFF president was the country's one of the prominent goalkeepers. He also came to me for recovery sessions, and rehab programs quite a few times when I was working with United Sports in 2008. Like all other footballers, I helped him to recover from injuries through rehab programs. Today he has forgotten me." 

He added, “I will be the happiest person if I get an offer to join the Indian team as its fitness coach. Even working with a junior Indian team will give me the same pleasure. I have worked with premier teams and maintained the consistency for last 16 long years.”

Garcia always has offered help to the footballers who do not represent his team. He has been doing this for the last 16 years. During his tenure at United Sports SC, ATK, Mohun Bagan East Bengal, and Gokulam FC this Brazilian strength and Conditioning coach has helped many footballers from other teams to heal their injuries. 

Even, he helped Nepal's national footballer Rohit Chand to recover from his injury through a rehab program. 

Garcia revealed Mohun Bagan's former Haitian striker Sony Norde still calls him from Malaysia and asks for advice on the maintenance of fitness. "Sony is playing in the Malaysian premier league. He calls me and asks for advice when needed. Even he told me he would talk to the club there for me. Anyway, it has not yet matured."

Garcia has also been doing the same in Churchill Brothers. The club does not have its infrastructure. The club has taken a gym on rent. Garcia divulged he conducts fitness training there at the gym and footballers of other Goan teams often go there to take him help. 

But Garcia feels his training style has got interesting variation only after he joined Gokulam FC and Churchill. The reason is training on the sea beach. "Training on the sea beach helps the footballers a lot, especially in regaining strength and conditioning. I benefitted only after joining this Goan team."

Churchill Brothers is languishing in the ongoing I-League with only 10 points from 12 matches. Garcia points out the reasons concluding, "I joined two weeks after the team's training began. Then the team combination could not be made properly due to the delayed arrival of the foreign footballers and before it was made we had to take part in four away matches."