This
season of the Indian Super League (ISL) saw FC Goa take their fan following on a
rollercoaster ride with the highs and lows making every moment of their matches
breathtaking. From Coro holding on strongly to the Golden Boot with 18 goals to
Mandar Rao Dessai being the first Indian footballer to score a goal in the
India Super League for this season, there has been a lot that has happened in
the fourth season of the ISL.
Clifton D’Cruz from Pirna has been following the games of the
team and has noticed a huge difference on and off the field in this season.
“This season, the team has been breaking and setting records throughout. There
has been a huge increase to the fan base compared to the previous season and
more fans are willing to travel for the away matches which boost the morale of
the team even if they are not in their hometown. It has been a treat to watch
the team play this season and surely a huge change from last season where they
were at the end of the table to playing the semi finals in this season,” says
Clifton.
Omkar H from Vasco-da-Gama, is a founding member of FC Goa Fan
Club. He was in Chennai to support the FC Goa team a along with 200 fans who
travelled by road and train for the last away match of the Semi finals. Giving
his view on the GF Goa game this season, he says, “The brand of football the
team played this season was breathtaking and was the best attacking FC Goa team
ever. The forward play showed us a glimpse of the ‘Tiki Taka’ style of play
which reminded many Goan fans of the great Dempo SC team of the last decades.
But there were a few flaws too. The defence was never up to the mark even when
the team was winning. Too much inter passing and giving the ball away close to
our own D area often the downside. The teams soon got to know our strengths and
weaknesses, our playmakers soon were heavily marked and it then seemed that we
didn’t have a plan B.”
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He further adds, “Sergio Lobera is a young coach. His attacking
and fearless style of play has impressed everyone. He has got another year of
contract left and I am sure he has already started working off putting a few
things on place with the priority being to plug that defence and having a
stronger bench because we are lucky to have Coro who has played almost 90
minutes for the match.”
Anthony Godinho from Chicalim says, “The team was excellent in
attack and extremely poor in defence. We turned the tide around in the last few
games to qualify but the frailties in defence caught up in the semi-finals.
Compared to last season, there is a huge improvement from last place. The coach
of the team deserves credit for creating a new team and getting them to gel so
well within a few months.”
Fainna Fernandes from Mapusa says, “This season, the FC Goa team
kept their fans on the edge of their seats with very entertaining matches. Coro
was marvellous in his games and there were great efforts from the entire team.
The new players proved themselves. I am sure the FC Goa fans can’t wait for the
next season to start.”
Augustine D’Mello from Moira is also a footballer who plays for
St Savio Calangute, First Division. “There are always strengths and weaknesses
in every team. Chennai turned out to have a stronger hold on the defence while
Goa had good attacking and possession and many golden opportunities that were
missed,” says Augustine.
Karl
Mark D’Silva from Mapusa has been for all the matches he could attend when he
was on his holidays in Goa. “The coach Sergio Lobera has done a good job with
building the confidence of the team. He brought in very good players from Spain
and the only aspect that was lacking throughout the season was the defence. I
thoroughly enjoyed watching the games and they won the hearts of all Goans. See
you next season FC Goa! Forca Goa!,” says Karl Mark.
