Over the last week, football fever has certainly caught up in the state. First with the
friendly match between FC Goa and East Bengal, the official unveiling of the FC
Goa team jersey for the season, FC Goa’s first match againstNorthEast United FC
in Guhawati and now the upcoming match against Chennaiyin FC in Chennai.
For the opening match
of the Indian Super League (ISL), when FC Goa went to Guwahati, Assam to play
NorthEast United FC, several fans from Goa travelled to the stadium to be there
for their team. While NorthEast FC enjoyed a strong home support, FC Goa fans
were there to make sure their team was egged on and motivated.
Among the fans
present, there were a group of fans from Mormugao, Quepem, Bicholim, Calangute
and Belatbatim and they carried banners, team gear and team colours. Café spoke
to the group, namely Omkar H, Vivek Kudaskar, Abhijit Keluskar, Presely Goes,
Damiao Fernandes, Sydney Fernandes and Carlton Rodrigues from Betalbatim.
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“Having played an
attacking brand of football last year, we certainly start as one of the
favourites this season. We have finally reinforced the defence this time with
Pena and Mourtada. If the back line is sorted, nothing can stop us this
season,” said the group when asked to speak about their thoughts about the
team’s chances for the season ahead.
But FC Goa’s 2-2 draw against
NorthEast United FC had little bearing on the die-hard fans.
“We had a good first half but the
Highlanders had an upper hand in the second half. Our young goalkeeper looked a
bit nervy in the beginning but during the second half, pulled out some crucial
saves.The first goal was a bit of a disaster but it’s still early days. A fair
result at the end given our performance,” says Omkar H, a musician by
profession, who had worked on the fan video called ‘Tiki Taka’, adding that
they are soon to come out with a remix version of ‘Tiki Taka’ video that would
have a different flavour, music and footage.
The group,which goes by the name FC Goa fan club, added
that a large number of fans would be also be joining them on their journey to
Chennai as FC Goa faces Chennaiyin FC on Saturday.
