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HT Kick Off: “Super” FC Goa’s deserved a trophy
In this issue, Dhiman looks at why head coach Manolo Marquez thinks FC Goa are the best club in India.
Dejan Dražić dragged Ashutosh Mehta out of position and found Aakash Sangwan with a first-time flick. And with that deft touch, Dražić had carved open Jamshedpur FC leading to the first goal of the Kalinga Super Cup final. It was Carl McHugh who had set the move going and it was fitting that the industrious Irishman would then help Dražić score with a pass that cut through two lines.
Character and class
So dominant were FC Goa that a national trophy after four seasons and a return to Asia were never in doubt in the last top tier match of 2024-25. It happened with a squad FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez said comprised friends rather than teammates.
In the comeback against Punjab FC, equalising two minutes from time and finding a winner, FC Goa showed the character needed to thrive in a knockout tournament. In the way Borja Herrera scored the final’s second, they showed class. This was hardly how a cup competition should be conducted but about this there was no doubt: FC Goa were the best team in it.
FC Goa were less than two minutes from forcing extra-time in the ISL semi-final which, ironically, did not go that far because Dražić, who was otherwise superb that night against Bengaluru FC, played back when he could have done the opposite.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant were an irresistible force – for them money is never a problem because of Mr Goenka, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said, speaking as a guest at an East Bengal event – but with significantly less resource, FC Goa finished second 10 points ahead of the rest. ISL’s numbers are skewed because Mohun Bagan and East Bengal arrived late and teams have wound up or relocated but that FC Goa have made the most play-offs (8 in 11 editions) and scored the most goals show they have been doing something right.
Actually, they have been doing a lot of things right. Signing Zico, who didn’t shirk from giving Indian players a run out, taking a punt on Anwar Ali even if it meant training people to use defibrillators, running Little Gaurs League where 1225 matches across age-groups from under-6 to under-16 for boys and girls were played this time (that ended with a Super Cup as well, one day after the final in Bhubaneswar), and starting an award in honour of Ferran Corominas, FC Goa’s growth as an institution has been one of ISL’s success stories.
Investment in youth development
But, for me, the biggest success story is FC Goa’s investment in youth. Their development team have won the Goa Professional League and the Goa Police Cup. Brison Fernandes, adjudged Emerging Player of 2024-25 in ISL and by AIFF, joined the club’s under-16 squad in 2016 worked his way through age-specific sides and the development team, played in the state league, the Police Cup and is now an international.
Muhammed Nemil is another young player in whom FC Goa invested, signing him from the Reliance Foundation Young Champs on a long-term deal and then sending him to Spain to train.
This term, Prachit Gaonkar became the first FC Goa player to have played for all their youth teams (under-13, under-15, under-17, under-19) and the development squad before making his ISL debut. It is a story similar to Vinith Venkatesh at Bengaluru FC and appropriate for a club that made stars out of local players Mandar Rao Dessai and Romeo Fernandes.
Appropriate also for a state, which according to Goa Football Association (GFA) president Caitano Fernandes, has 6800 registered players excluding those who play inter-village and other private tournaments. GFA organised 1400 matches this season, Fernandes has said in a letter to AIFF seeking clarification on how the federation rewarded state associations for promoting the game this season.
Given the massive financial stress running a football team in India is, it is understandable that youth development would be given the short shrift. Finding players through trials just before an age-specific I-League is the usual route for most clubs. Especially because there simply aren’t enough games available to justify building a team for the season. That is what makes FC Goa’s attempt to create an organic pathway for player development commendable.
It helps you understand why Marquez, the club’s most successful coach ever with 37 wins in 61 matches over two seasons, says that in terms of organisation, FC Goa is the best club in India. And why he could leave the India job for another season or two at FC Goa.
Play of the week
