Kamal Ghorui
Panaji: Whenever Pamela Conti needs guidance in the dugout, she almost always turns to her brother Vincenzo, who has been by her side all through her football journey.The former striker with 90 caps and 30 goals for the Italy national team worked with her brother at Palermo, then Venezuela, where she took the U-20 team to the FIFA World Cup, and is now looking to rewrite the history books with India at the AFC U-17 Asian Cup in China.“My brother is a very important figure for me and for my career,” Conti, now coach of India U-17 women’s team, told TOI during a video call last week. “He is someone with a lot of experience in football. He played until the age of 40, has always lived through football, understands the game, and knows it deeply. He helps me in every way, not only in footballing aspects.”Vincenzo played for Palermo FC in the second division of Italian football, then managed the club’s academy team, before taking charge of Venezuela U-17. When Pamela was forced to isolated herself due to Covid in 2021, it was Vincenzo who took charge of the Venezuela senior women’s team that defeated India 2-1 in Brazil.“I think he is better than me in many ways, and he will always be a part of me. We have been to Europe, South America and now Asia and we want to improve the players here. It feels good when former players (from Venezuela) still call for guidance. I am glad that the India players trust us. Hopefully we can create something memorable,” said Pamela.India kick off their AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup campaign against Australia on Saturday in China, marking a return to the continental stage for the first time in 21 years. More significantly, it completes a rare and historic sequence in 2026, with India’s third women’s Asian Cup appearance following the senior team and the U-20 side, both of whom could not make it to the knockout stage.India’s group also has four-time champions Japan and debutants Lebanon.“I think everyone is excited and really eager for the tournament to start. We’ve been working for a long time, for many months. But it’s always a great feeling to play in important international tournaments, especially representing a big, big country like India,” said Pamela.
