The journey of FC Goa has been a fairy tale story, Brazilian legend Zico led side was rock bottom in first leg of the season and than the team provided some magical moments for the fans. The young Goan side finished 2nd in the league season before getting knock out by Atletico de Kolkata in penalties in semi finals who later on become champions of Hero Indian Super League. We here look at the journey of FC Goa family which include their 12th men FC Goans.
FC Goa started the league with string of poor results which put them at the rock bottom in the first leg of the league season. Injuries to some of the key players like Miraslav Slepicka, Peter Carvalho hit them the western coast club hard. The team were not playing badly, they were dominating their opponents in possession, had better shots among all eight franchises but most important things goals were lacking, Sometimes they missed it by whisker of a distant, sometimes disallowed goal and sometimes hitting the upright. Everything seems to have been going against them despite having one of the most cohesive unit.
They say if you cant support team when they lose donai??i??t support them when the team win, this seems to be not with the case of FC Goa. The fans of the club never stopped believing in Zico and his boys. They turned out with large number for all the games and supported the players. The social media portals of clubs and the players were flooding with messages of crazy fans to show their support for the team.
Delhi Dynamos traveled to Goa having one of the best defensive record and were expecting to pill on the misery on FC Goa. Dynamos started as expected scoring goal within 10 minutes of the game. FC Goa continued their usual way dominating possession and lacking composure in opponent half. In second half out of blue, Jewel Raja found equalizer and in added time of the game when it was looking like there will be the draw, a long ball nicely controlled by Slepicka who was just brought on few minutes back. The Czech international nicely put ball for Tolgay Ozbey who found himself against on rushing Dynamos giant goalkeeper Van Hout. The Australian went past the goalkeeper and pushed the ball towards the goal. As soon as the ball entered the net, the whole stadium just erupted. There was tears of joy in the eyes of fans and the players. FC Goans watching on television danced as if India has won the World Cup. This was the beginning of a beginning of the longest unbeaten run in the Indian super league.
FC Goa has got new self belief in them and the club just did not look back. The club did not lose a single match since they Delhi win at the home. They even went on to thrash league leaders Chennayin FC at their home, which was a first home defeat of Chennayin FC. In the process FC Goa even managed to break the Chennayin FC record of the longest winning run in Indian Super League. The club secured 2nd spot in the league season .
Brazilian legend Zico was not able to find finisher like him in the early part of the season. The team was struggling up front, but Zico continue to believe in the players and the belief paid the dividend. The team just did not fire, but scored a whopping number of goals and in the process kept 7 clean sheets. The Brazilian early part of the season was not in favour of support staff the management had provided. With Australian assistant Arthur Papas resigning from the post and Zico brings his own staff from Brazil just worked wonders for FC Goa.
FC Goa is expected to retain the services of the legend and may sign 2 season contract.
Andre Santos was coming from injury which he suffers at the hands of his former club Flamingo fans. Putting behind all the horrible incident Andre Santos headed to Goa and in his 2nd game itself he scored goal for the club. Playing on new role as attacking midfielder was major talking point this season. Santos not only provided vital goals, but played the playmaker role to the perfection. His set piece brilliance was evident in many goals. Santos not only was hit on the field, but also among the fans. The Brazilian must have enjoyed the attention he got in Goa, where fans just loved wherever he went.
The Hero Indian Super league is all about identifying the talent and giving them a platform to show their skills. FC Goa is one of the youngest team in the league but having said that there was lots of things at stake. Every one would have preferred experienced players over some new player, but at FC Goa Zico identified three gems and nurtured them into a player who can serve the Indian team in years to come. The trio of Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Desai and Narayan Das has been revealed for the franchise and in Indian Super league. The Pace and decision making of all these three have garnered lots of praises. Under guidance of Zico the three have blossomed into players who can be nightmares for rival defence. Narayan Das playing the majority of the season at left back was brilliant in defence and was equal when he moved up. His combination with Mandar on the left flank was outstanding. Romeo Fernandes, who was unknown to many prior to ISL now suddenly have turned star in India. The youngster scored most number of goals among Indians and provided few assist in his process. The winger has attracted attention from Brazil, where he has been offered contracts. With age on his side and hunger to improve these three can be the mainstay of theAi??Indian national team in near future.
FC Goa is not about one individual, the team performed like a unit. Right of defence till attack was smooth. The defensive duo of Bruno and Gregory was wonderful for the Goans. The team forward line was in safe hands of Slepicka who was supported well by Romeo and Mandar. The key to the success in the 2nd leg of the season was defensive midfielders. Afghan, International Amiri and Bikramjit Singh were an inspirationalAi??breaking number of attacks. The players even helped team moving up front.
Next Season is still long way to go but FC Goa will be in hearts of FC Goans until next season starts.
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