THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

FC Goa to take on Vasco SC in friendly tomorrow

FC Goa
FC Goa

Picture courtesy Hero Indian Super League / IMG-Reliance

FC Goa will be playing its next friendly against Vasco Sports Club this Thursday at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. The match, which will begin at 19.00 IST, will be played under floodlights at FC Goa’s home ground.

Ahead of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL), which will begin on October 12, the clubs have been playing friendly matches with various football clubs. The two previous friendly matches in FC Goa’s preseason schedule both ended in wins for the ISL club, with a triumph over Sesa Football Academy by a score of 3-0 and a 4-0 win against the India national U-19 team.

FC Goa’s marquee coach, Brazilian legend and three-time World Cupper Arthur Antunes Coimbra, fondly known as Zico,has been putting the FC Goa squad through a rigorous training schedule and is gearing up for the first season of the ISL.

FC Goa recently roped in two of Dempo SC’s foreign imports – Australian Tolgay Ozbey and Haroon Amiri of Afghanistan – for the inaugural edition of the ISL. Former Dempo player Ranty Martins, presently with East Bengal, has also been selected by FC Goa to be part of the squad weeks before the start of the ISL. Former Arsenal and Brazil international player André Santos is expected to join the squad shortly.

FC Goa, one of the eight teams to compete in the 2014 Hero Indian Super League to be held between October and December, have already established a significant fan base. Fans, both young and old, are rooting for the team from Goa.