PANJIM: The importance of the moment is not lost on the team. When at 10.30pm Wednesday the referee blows the whistle to signal the start of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League bout between FC Goa and Al Rayyan at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, the Goan team will become the first Indian club to be represented in the league.
So when FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando says, “It’s an important moment for the club (FC Goa) and Indian football,” he is perfectly right. FC Goa will go down in history as the first Indian club to play in the AFC championships league group stages. The honour came to them last season, when FC Goa topped the ISL league stage.
Everyone knows what this means to Goa and India and so does the Gaurs’ gaffer who was quick enough to speak on the importance of this event. “This is an opportunity for our players to play against some big names in Asia. It’s not only beneficial for the club but also for the entire Indian community,” Ferrando said.
Ferrando has been with Goa for just a season, but with the results already proven in ISL there has been a noticeably positive impact at the club.
FC Goa remained unbeaten in the last 15 games in ISL. But the AFC Champions League is a different ball game and cannot be compared to ISL.
“It’s very difficult. We have watched some games, in our case in Group E (Persepolis FC, Al Rayyan and Al Wahda), the level is so high. The intensity in their games is totally different from the ISL but it’s necessary to control minute-by-minute for 90 minutes. These games will be high intensity and it’s very important to be ready,” Ferrando added.
The squad features mainly youngsters in the ranks with not many experienced in the side besides the foreigners. Ferrando believes it’s time to learn and be competitive having a clear mentality not forgetting the philosophy of the club. “For me, the most important thing is the responsibility. Of course, the squad is very young but it’s the philosophy of this club to work with young players. We have to focus game-by-game.”
The coach faced a selection dilemma which saw him ultimately sacrifice the golden boot winner Igor Angulo to strengthen the defence ahead of the major 3+1 rule which they had to follow in this competition. Having some of the finest foreign talent, the coach was forced to leave some big names.
“The decision (to leave out Angulo) was made at the last moment because we had some problems in the last line of defence. So in this case it was necessary to prepare the best squad,” the coach explained.
Over the past decades, Goa has had the privilege of witnessing major football competitions. From domestic football leagues to I-League, ISL, International matches to FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017. And now the State will host the first major Asian Football Confederation tournament – the AFC Champions League which begins Wednesday. Unfortunately, due to pandemic restrictions fans will not get to throng the stadium for the major event.
