FC Goa’s attacking approach in ISL4 thrills to the core
The Indian Super League Season IV has just crossed its half-way stage and one team that has really set it on fire, is FC Goa. Indeed the Gaurs have woken up this year after a slump in the previous season, and have been refreshing with all the changes to the squad. The attacking philosophy of the former assistant-coach at Barcelona, Sergio Lobera, has been executed to perfection by his compatriots from Spain, mainly the playmaker Manuel Lanzarote and forward Ferran Corominas - who can now be dubbed as the ‘artistes’ on the field unlike any foreign player in the nascent ISL history.
The Goans have loved what they have witnessed so far in the entertaining and boisterous evenings at Nehru stadium, Fatorda. And the average attendance of around 17,500 for the home games, tells the story of a love affair rekindled. The knowledgeable audience that our football-crazy state boasts of, however, are clearly embarrassed by the flawed defence of Lobera’s side with the error-prone goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani being in the eye of the storm.
Indeed, nowhere in the highly acclaimed leagues in the world, does a team concede as many goals as FC Goa have done, and yet manages to be placed comfortably in the top-four bracket. What provides the Gaurs a great advantage, is purely the class of the attacking combinations put together by the youngest coach in the ISL, Sergio Lobera.
When Coro and Lanza combine, the field looks like a canvas and the support cast of Edu Bedia, Ahmed Jahouh along with the talented local boys in Brandon Fernandes and Mandar Rao Dessai, help in framing the big picture as Lobera’s boys use the width of the ground, to make a dazzling run into the rival territory and send the Fatorda stadium into raptures with breathtaking goals. No wonder, FC Goa are the league’s highest scoring team so far with 27 goals in 11 games, having played at least one match less than most of the other teams.
Such has been the impact of FC Goa’s tiki-taka brand of fluid attacking football played in a cauldron of an atmosphere due to the partisan home fans, every visiting coach admits that Goa is indeed a tough place to come and win the match. However at times, one can also notice the host players getting carried away by strong emotions and losing focus of the task at hand that is to play sensibly.
Nevertheless, FC Goa has done most of the things correctly but one area that needs to be looked into seriously now, is how they can protect their citadel. The race to qualify for the semi-finals could be a neck and neck affair. Hence, the Gaurs have to stay clear of the nervous dash at the business-end with quick improvement in defence in particular.
