Team Herald
There’s little over a week to go for the inauguration of the second season of the Hero Indian Super League as the excitement and energy was there in full display as FC Goa unveiled their 26-man squad at Tilak Maidan, Vasco. Fans came out in numbers to get a first glimpse of their heroes ahead of the season.
Marquee player, Lucimar Ferreira da Silva or Lucio as he is fondly known was received with raucous applause. Speaking highly about legendary coach, Zico, Lucio remarked that the ISL is a different challenge for him. He noted that it was Zico who convinced him to make the move to India.
He praised the abilities of the team, noting that they have gelled well and they train hard. “As a team, we’re very good. It doesn’t matter what one single player does and I strongly feel that as a team, we can perform well and can go on to become champions,” he said.
With only one win in pre-season, the former Bayern Munich defender said that results in pre-season don’t matter. “These are only preparatory matches. We don’t look at these results. The point of these matches is to prepare well and make the most out of the opportunity to bond with your teammates,” he asserted.
The ISL is blessed with a lot of Brazilian flavour for the second season with Roberto Carlos joining Delhi Dynamos and Elano Blumer returning to the Chennaiyin set up. Stressing that results aren’t dependent on one player, he said, “All his (Carlos’) players need to play well and the team can’t solely depend on him.”
FC Goa president, Dattaraj Salgaocar who was also in attendance agreed with his marquee man. Salgaocar mentioned that the rules have changed this year with regard to selection of teams. “Last year we had to choose from what we were offered. This year we decided to go for Lucio because he is the best. Zico informed us that he wanted to build a team around him and that is exactly what we have done,” he explained.
The final is set to take place in Goa but Salgaocar insisted that it wouldn’t be added pressure on his team. “I will quote Zico here when I say, ‘The fear of losing should never take away the pleasure of playing’. The team will train hard and we are sure we can accomplish something great,” he concluded.
