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Goa has been the powerhouse of Indian football having won all but one NFL or I-League titles and stamping their authority in the domestic authority. It is arguably the hub of Indian football and forms the heart of the country’s football and even while the giant is sleeping, the state’s throb keeps going pumping life into it. As the idea of ISL was floated, Goa was one of the venues already on the map of the league given its rich culture, heritage and affiliation to football which had also prompted the Goa CM to choose football as the official state sport.
FC Goa did well as they began engaging with fans early on. They were asked to suggest a name, where the franchise decided to go ahead with a meaningful name, connecting with the state, unlike the former clubs named after families. Even the logo of FC Goa was well thought of with the owners wanting to go ahead with something reminiscent of the state. “For FC Goa we wanted to have a logo which will convey what we stand for, the values we believe in and the essence of Goa,” Salgaocar said.
With the scalp of Robert Pires, Andre Santos and the great Brazilian Zico, Goa boasts of big and quality names in their line-up to go with a fine domestic squad and are all set to compete for the trophy. They have started their pre-season well, winning all three games played, outdoing SESA 3-0, followed by a 4-0 thumping of the India U-19. But they had to toil hard to scrape past a gritty Vasco outfit, winning 1-0 to complete a whitewash.
Squad
Goal Keepers: Jan Seda, Laxmikant Kattimani
Defenders: Andre Santos, Debabrata Roy, Gregory Arnolin, Narayan Das, Prabir Das, Rowilson Rodrigues, Youness Bengelloum, Zohib Amiri
Midfielder: Alwyn George, Bruno Pinheiro, Clifford Miranda, Edgar Marcelino, Mandar Desai, Peter Carvalho, Pronay Halder, Romeo Fernandes, Sheikh Raja, Robert Pires
Forwards: Gabriel Fernandes, Holicharan Narzary, Miguel Herlein, Miroslav Slepicka, Tolgay Ozbey
With Robert Pires fitting in their squad and Zico as manager, FC Goa are in safe hands. A big advantage the club can boast of is that it has Dempo SC players who complete the domestic quota who having played for a while together, know each other well. The squad comprises of some great foreign players to go with fine Indian talents backed by the experienced heads in the side which makes for a very strong outfit.
While Pires is the club’s marquee player, the signings of Miguel Herlein, Gregory Arnolin and Seda add further firepower. Edgar Marcelino completes the Portuguese connection in addition to his graft and craft at the centre of midfield, holding the team together. The signings of Amiri, Tolgay and Ranti Martins covered for the foreigners with experience in India, while the signing of Brazilian and former Arsenal man Andre Santos added further flair to the already impressive looking outfit. Santos is an absolute catch for the club as he was playing for Arsenal not too long ago.
Gabriel Fernandes is versatile and can take up the wings on either side or play as a lone man upfront. The 25-year-old Goan lad is immensely talented, early signs of which were shown in his stint at Mumbai FC where the youngster scored crucial goals to lift the club up in the table. The following season saw the youngster being drafted by Dempo, before being loaned out to Pune FC where he was a regular starter and someone in which the coach had great belief.
Gabriel was reportedly on the wishlist of the Bengaluru FC board and has been rated highly by Zico who feels the youngster has immense talent. Constantly knocking on the national team door, this could surely be a turning point in his career.
Mandar Rao Desai is a youngster that is still looking to settle in the side, but is one with tremendous potential. At 22 years of age, he is a part of one of India’s premier outfit in Dempo SC and now FC Goa and also went onto represent the India U-23 side against Pakistan where he impressed one and all with his pace, trickery and crossing ability. Although he might not be a regular starter, he would certainly be an important member of the FC Goa squad.
The squad also has a few other exciting and exceptionally talented youngsters in Alwyn George, Holicharan Narzary and Romeo Fernandes. While Alwyn and Holicharan have been touted to be future stars and members of the future Indian striking department, Fernandes is thought of to be lightening the wings in days to come.
Likely XI: Kattimani; Debabrata, Bengelloun, Arnolin, Narayan, Pinheiro, Pronay, Pires, Santos, Marcelino, Slepicka
Coach
While people only talk about players such as Del Piero, Ljunberg, Anleka, Pires amongst the others, Zico is definitely one of the biggest coups in the tournament. Zico would be assisted by Dempo SC coach Arthur Papas. Not only is he a world beater in terms of the prowess he possesses as a player, he can weave his magic as a coach as well.
Zico, who represented Brazil, was considered one of the finest players to take the pitch in the late 1970s and was named “White Pele”. In 1999, he came eighth in the FIFA Player of the Century grand jury vote, while 2004 saw him named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
He is said to be amongst the best players who does not have a World Cup trophy in his cabinet. Zico, who excelled as an attacking midfielder and boasted of a wonderful free-kick netted 192 times in his illustrious 23 years long career as a player.
As a coach, Zico was part of the 2006 Japan World Cup side as well as the 2004 Asian Games winning side. He then went on to become a part of the Turkish outfit Fenerbache, where he, in his first year of reign won the league title as well as the Turkish Super Cup. He also ensured the club went past the group stage in the Champions League for the very first time in the club’s history and emerged as the most successful coach for the club in the European circuit.
He also has on his CV, the experience of managing clubs such as CSKA Moscow and Olympiakos before joining the Iraq national team to build up on his experience around the World. And as Gabriel Fernandes put one in the back of the net against the India U-19s, he ran to the sidelines and into the coach’s arms, which just elucidates the fact that players are relishing playing under him and that his importance cannot be ignored.
Owners
FC Goa are blessed with very passionate owners. Dempo SC owner and chairman Shrinivas Dempo jointly holds the position with the brother of Salgaocar FC owner – Duttaraj Salgaocar. Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot and Indian cricket sensation Virat Kohli are also the co-owners.
But one aspect here needs clarity as many people still have the impression that the Salgaocar party in the franchise is the one from Salgaocar FC, however Duttaraj Salgaocar is the brother of owner of Salgaocar FC, Shivanand Salgaocar.
While Shrinivas Dempo has already portrayed enough, his love and passion for football, Duttaraj and Venugopal have added to the roster with their presence in the vision of a better footballing nation. Virat Kohli has too depicted his love for the beautiful game being a part of the fray as a co-owner. The owners have taken a big and revolutionary step as they become the first sports team in the country to launch a satellite channel dedicated to the club. This is a great way of engaging with the fans and keep the buzz going.
How far will they go?
Just as the first season of the IPL panned out, where everybody’s predictions went for a toss and there were surprises aplenty, a similar situation is expected in the ISL. However, going by the books of logic and football knowledge, FC Goa seem one of the firm favourites to clinch the maiden title. The club has a very balanced squad in terms of both bench strength, the youth and exuberance of youth and the calmness and grit of the experienced heads.
Also, given the team comprises of players that have been playing and training together for long, there seems to be no time wasted in getting the sync going and are hence, likely to be quick starters and ones that would be in a position to capitalise it in the duration of the tournament. If pre-season form is something to go by, FC Goa are already on a fine run with three wins out of three.
