Coached by the legendary Zico, FC Goa, who made it to the semi-finals of the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), will be one of the teams to watch in ISL-2. The legendary Brazilian is leaving no stone unturned to make Goa a champion side in his second season with the franchise having himself selected all the foreign players in the team and the Brazilian flavour gives the squad an edge over others.
There are seven Brazilian players in FC Goa team this time, while the others, including Spanish midfielder Jofre Mateu, have proven track record.
Goa selected Lucio as their marquee player for the new season and the Brazilian has won everything in the past. From World Cup to league titles, he brings with him experience in abundance. However, the team will be without Arsenal legend Robert Pires - who was one of the biggest crowd puller last time around.
Last season, Goa were slow off the blocks but this season Zico will want to hit the ground running from the word go.
Strengths: Domestic talent plays a massive role and the local lads are one of FC Goa’s strengths. Adding to that, the Samba flavour drilled in by coach Zico and the marquee signing of Lucio make Goa a force to reckon with this time as well.
The crowd support might also play a key role for them - as we saw last time that all the games in their home stadium were jam packed. Goa have added a number of Brazilians to their squad - so the the players and team chemistry is surely going to work in their favour as well.
Weaknesses: FC Goa have lost quite a few players. Arsenal legend Pires is not the only notable loss. Goa's star player of last season Andre Santos will also not be part of ISL this time around and another noticeable is that of Afghanistan captain Zohib Amiri. Another big weakness for the Goa franchisee is that majority of the foreign players are in their late 30s, which means fitness could become a problem area at some stage in the 79-day tournament.
Their pre-seaon record is not that great. Goa players spent their pre-season in the United Arab Emirates, where they trained hard under the watchful eyes of Zico and Lucio. But of the four practice games the team played, they won only one, drew two and lost one.
Players to watch
Jofre Mateu: FC Goa have brought in Mateu from Atletico de Kolkata. It can be one of the key signings for them. He lends immense stability to this team and will be the playmaker for them this season. A product of Barcelona’s famed youth academy, Mateu surely has enviable passing skills that can be worry for any opposition. He started his career at the famed La Masia academy in Barcelona and made his first-team debut in the final game of the 1997-98 season, wherein he scored the lone goal for his side in a 4-1 loss.
Romeo Fernandes: During the inaugural season of Indian Super League, Romeo had a fantastic time and was seen as one of the new Indian stars thrown up by ISL. The 22-year Goan was loaned to the Brazilian club Paranaense amidst plenty of hype in January after some noteworthy performances in the ISL. It was said he was personally recommended by coach Zico. And this season he should be on the pitch as an even better player.
Denson Devadas: Devadas played almost every game for Chennaiyin FC in the first season of the tournament and he is expected to be in Goa's starting eleven right away. Devadas, who cites midfielders Zinedine Zidane and Andres Iniesta as his footballing idols, will hope to make an impact for his new club. As a central attacking midfielder, he could be the focal point for Zico's men.
Marquee player: Lucimar Ferreira da Silva, popularly known as Lucio, signed up with FC Goa as marquee player. Lucio, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and was part of 2006 and 2010 finals, was recommended by the side's legendary coach Zico and brings with him a bundle of top-flight experience. The Brazilian defender started his football career with Internacional at home before heading to Germany where he played for Bayern Leverkusen and Bayern Munich and won three Bundesliga titles.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Andrade, Laxmikant Kattimani, Luis Barreto, Keenan Almeida
Defenders: Nicolau Colaco, Lúcio, Grégory Arnolin, Raju Gaikwad, Narayan Das, Roy Debabrata.
Midfielders: Bikramjit Singh, Jonatan Lucca, Pronay Halder, Leo Moura, Jofre, Mandar Rao Desai, Léo Rocha, Denson Devadas, Romeo Fernandes
Forwards:
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