Rise Again - The FC GoaSeason Preview
When the whistle finallyblows to herald the new season of the Indian Super League, it will not onlymean the return of football. For many, it will be a reason to believe that weare all striving towards making things normal again.
The year 2020 has thrownthe understanding of the word ‘normal’ into a quandary. With the outbreak ofCOVID, the new season has forced the hands of all and sundry, putting forth anew imagination of the same word – ‘normal’.
Like everyone in allcorners of the world, who have been affected by the deadly pandemic, thisbeginning will deliver some much-needed optimism, albeit a cautious one.
A season of change
When you think of Goa,what comes to mind is not spiritually connected to the charmless clusters ofuprises or the snarling noise of the traffic that normally associate with thevisage of the country of a billion.
Goa is different. It iscomfortably its own thing – with beaches, lots of cool old buildings, breweriesand restaurants that are alternately fancy and just plain good, and apopulation that lives and breathes football. The beautiful game, for Goans, isnot a source for entertainment. It’s a way of life. And what embodies this all,is the land’s favourite club, FC Goa.
‘Serene’ is a word thatoften comes to mind when describing Goa. That is, of course, accompanied by anundertone of a wondrous yet fierce spirit that the natives have for life. Whenan Indian football fan thinks of FC Goa, the club, the fans and the ‘football’,it falls under the same plane of conscience. Of course, added is the club’szeal for developing its own stars, focussing on the development of youth andconstantly delivering success on the football field.
A pattern has emerged overthe years. Five appearances in the playoffs in six seasons of the ISL helpscement that. The Gaurs don’t just find a way to reach the playoffs. More oftenthan not, it’s a bulldozing run to the top, characterised by high octane,possession-based brand of football that has time and again forced oppositionsinto submission.
A penchant for taking theinitiative has resulted in helping the Gaurs create a niche for themselves inthe ISL. With the club philosophy undeterred, one can expect much more of thesame in the season to come.
Heading into this newnormal is a very different-looking FC Goa team; this time in the reins in thehands of new Spanish head coach, Juan Ferrando. Gone are many who becamehousehold names in Goa, the most prominent of them being Ferran Corominas.
Taking their place is anew lot (which includes five new foreign signings). The fresh faces promise togive the Gaurs a whole new dimension – a similar style presented with anentirely different approach and attention to details.
Throughout the pre-seasonJuan Ferrando has preached the need to be pliable, having customised solutionsto the problems posed by each and every opponent, and different situations thatthe match presents.
“We would continue to playan attacking brand of football, playing the game on the front foot. That is thephilosophy of the club and that is what really attracted me to the job. It isaligned with the kind of football I believe in,” sounded out Ferrando.
“However, we have to beflexible with the approach. Every game and every situation in games will demanda different solution and we have to be ready for such situations when theypresent themselves.”
The recruitment of foreignplayers has also been a detailed process. The club has not only looked atindividual brilliance alone when it came to the signings. An attitude ofbelonging to the club, taking ownership on and off the pitch and helping othersin the squad take a step forward in a season that will see the Club step on tothe biggest stage in continental club football has been paramount.
“When we looked at signingthe players, we saw to that with a view for the long term development of theclub,” exclaimed Ferrando.
“The foreign players like Igor (Angulo), Ivan(Gonzalez), James (Donachie) and Jorge (Ortiz) were recruited with the view ofnot only getting us wins, but also help grow a culture of both excellence aswell as pushing everyone at the club to demand better of themselves each andevery day. We have a number of youngsters with great potential and for themtake the next step, it is paramount they have seniors they can look up to, whomthey feel free to communicate and emulate.”
Youth to the fore
A big reason for theconstant success that FC Goa has been able to deliver has been their insatiableappetite to evolve as a club. And a conscious step towards the same was takenthis off-season. The Gaurs invested heavily on youth as players like MakanWinkle Chothe, Phrangki Buam, Ishan Pandita, Sanson Pereira and DevendraMurgaonkar.
The club has also put arenewed faith in Princeton Rebello to treat this season of the ISL as hiscoming out party whilst promoting Leander D’Cunha from the Developmental Team.Five players from the Dev Team has also been included in the ISL squad –reinforcing the club’s vision to truly be the platform for the stars oftomorrow.
The footprints of the samecan easily be seen in the recent partnership the Gaurs struck up Bundesligagiants RB Leipzig. That, though, is a conversation for another day.
In amidst all this, theClub has retained a clearly distinctive Goan flavour. 14 of the 30 players thatmake up the FC Goa squad this season are from Goa – a figure that no other teamin the ISL can match – both in terms of numbers and percentage of teamcomposition.
The charge
Whilst the Gaurs have beenable to create an identity for being the most consistently successful team inthe competition (only team to make it to 5 playoffs, win 50 games and scoremore than 200 goals), the eventual trophy has so far eluded them.
The eyes, thus, will be onthe coveted trophy yet again this season. But can they lift it?
“I wouldn’t be here if Ididn’t believe that we could win it,” sounded out Ferrando.
That optimism is shared bymost in the squad as well – a squad which will this season be led by Edu Bedia.Into his fourth season at the club, the Spanish midfielder has become a vitalpart of the cog in the FC Goa blueprint and believes this is a season where theteam can even be better.
“The training sessionshave really been intense this season and with such a short pre-season, we haveall put our best foot forward. We didn’t relax during the offseason and came inready to hit the ground running,” Bedia opined.
“We have a number ofyoungsters in the squad this season who are really eager to learn. We willcontinue to play an attacking brand of football, but a lot of attention hasbeen paid to the details.
“We have been rehearsingvarious situations that we might come across in games. The talent in the teamis undoubtedly there and now with such attention to details, there is no doubtwe will be better.”
The Spaniard also believesthat the bubble scenario, whilst being a challenge has also been helpful forthe Gaurs.
“It’s of course not idealto be in a hotel for six months at a stretch. However, we have to understandthe present situation and taking everything into consideration, we are kind ofprivileged,” remarked the skipper.
“There have not been manypositives to take away from this situation. However, with a new team and a newset of players, staying together under one roof has been an advantage for us.We have been staying together like a family and the situation has helped to getto know each other much better than previous years.”
While time will certainlyanswer many questions, the Club, like seasons before have left no stoneunturned with a view to getting better. ‘Rise Again’ is not just a gimmickyhashtag that is normally thrown around like a marketing ragdoll. For the Gaurs,it’s their outlook for the season.
As we all stride back andendeavour towards better days ahead, this is more than just a club that islooking to head back to the top of the league table. FC Goa is a symbol thatemotes with Goa. And together, everyone believes, they will rise again.
======