“I have signed for one year for this season, but we have a verbal agreement that I will come for two years to see this vision through,” stated FC Goa Coach Zico.
The Brazilian legend has kicked off his third season as FC Goa coach and looks like he could be around for a few years to come, especially if the Indian Super League (ISL) becomes a longer league with more matches for each team to play.
After the fiasco that took place at the end of the last ISL competition and the change in ownership of FC Goa, Goan fans were anxiously waiting to see if Zico would return to the role of FC Goa coach. All doubts were laid to rest when Zico, returned to our sunny state recently. He clearly has unfinished business!
Forca Goa
In the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League, Zico steered FC Goa to the semi-finals after the clubs’s poor performance at the initial league stages. The second year was just as exciting for fans of FC Goa, when the men in blue reached the final, playing a delightful brand of football.
After coming so agonizingly close to lifting the trophy last year, there is no doubt that Zico has only one thing on his mind, this time round. Let’s hope he can deliver and put the recent off-the-field problems, which the Goan franchise faces, firmly to rest.
New ownership
After building the club up from inception, FC Goa owners Shrinivas Dempo and Dattaraj Salgaocar recently sold their joint 65% share in the Goan club, to casino entrepreneur Jaydev Mody.
The club has retained the services of local Goan heroes such as Romeo Fernandes and Keenan Almeida. They have also taken on local boy Pratesh Shirodkar. Before the start of the season there are sure to be many more local and foreign stars added to the roster to bolster the squad.
“India has been a great experience for me in the past two years and when the management of FC Goa reached out to me, I was happy to come back. The people of Goa have always given me a lot of support and love and I hope that this season we can repay them with our performances on the pitch. I have spoken to Mr. Mody and he has a vision for this club and I’m happy to play my part in this. In terms of this season, we have made some good signings and we will continue to work on the squad which will be built to aim for the title,” signed off Zico.
PHOTO COURTESY: footballcounter.com
