FC Goa may be out of contention in the fourth edition of the Indian Super League, but the journey was evolutionary and revolutionary at the same time. After the disastrous bottom-place finish in the previous season where legendary Brazilian coach Zico reached the end of the road of a three-year stint, the Goan franchise knew they had a huge challenge at hand. The brand had taken a beating after an ugly end to the final match against Chennaiyin FC in season-2 followed by a bottom finish in season-3.
In came a young coach Sergio Lobera, former assistant-coach at Barcelona behind Tito Vilanova, with a strongly ingrained ‘attacking philosophy with tiki-taka brand of football’ in his arsenal. FC Goa owners chose the 40-year-old Spaniard ahead of famous names like Teddy Sheringham, as they found the ambitious and astute tactician in Lobera could resurrect the team.
Lobera’s foreign signings proved incredibly successful with Spanish duo of Ferran Corominas (18 goals) and Manuel Lanzarote (13 goals and 6 assists) still firmly in the race for the Golden boot and Hero of the league awards respectively. The likes of Ahmed Jahouh and Edu Bedia, have also been the ever present players in FC Goa line-up this season as the Gaurs displayed terrific short-passing, fluid attacking football that mesmerised football fans.
And the craze and excitement returned and so did the fans who came in huge numbers with more than 80 per cent occupancy for every match of the season. From a sudden slump midway to a rise back like a phoenix, the Gaurs exhibited tremendous self-belief and gumption to thrash opposition in the last three matches to make it to the semis. Goans young and old, men and women; fell in love with football once again with Lobera’s hand-picked ‘artistes’ “ Coro and Lanza in particular“ dazzling on the pitch.
The change was clearly visible. The erstwhile Brazilian influence on FC Goa has now been replaced by the Spanish flavour in a revolutionary revamp without any fuss as Zico’s big boots have been filled in by lesser-known Lobera with tremendous efficiency. Incrementally, the sheer pleasure of seeing the ball move around with the players exchanging subtle touches and moving into great positions to score a record 42 goals in ISL history, is an evolutionary feat.
While the ISL-4 journey for Lobera’s boys has ended with their semi-finals defeat to bitter rivals Chennaiyin FC, FC Goa can be proud of their overall progress after they were down in despair at the end of last season with many a fan turning their back on the club. Going ahead, the club will have to work on their weakness and re-strategize. This would include tackling the core issue of conceding goals at any given point of time and the unforgivable goalkeeping lapses that cost the team dearly. Moreover, FC Goa should repose their faith in the terrific Spanish and Moroccan combination of players if they want to mount a title challenge in ISL-5.
