The Turf Begins To Tick for FC Goa at Tilak Maidan

FC Goa players on their first day of training at the Tilak maidan,Vasco

The turf at Tilak maidan, Vasco got the first feel of the feet and brains of the FC Goa players that are set to stake claim for the title of Indian Super League (ISL) II champions. Except for coach Zico – who is in Zurich attending some private business- FC Goa were in full force with captain Lucio in their first training session – after their two week sojourn in Dubai.

Training started at 8.30 am and finished at 10.05 am. In the one and a half hour the team was together, two players stuck out- Lucio, despite his age still possess the demeanour of a champion, and goalkeeper Elinton Andrade also from Brazil.  The defence envisaged by Zico is set the rest of the team wetting the fans appetite for goals and more goals.

Thirty seven year Lucio beats his age on the field. Still athletic and strong Lucio displayed  in the one hour thirty five  odd minutes of training that he still understands the psychological nuances of getting all to play together. During training, he was at the right place at the right time for the ball; he demonstrated when to use his left or right leg; he made receiving the ball look simple and on one occasion let go a shot at goal that differentiates a genius.

 Thirty six year old goalkeeper Elinton Andrade showed in his training along with Laximikant Kattimani and Luis Barreto that age is not a deterrent for quick reflexes and anticipation of the flight of the ball. Elinton is agile, very good at the traditional style of goalkeeping and uses the unconventional methods of stopping the ball when needed.

You need eleven players for a victory clap in football. Lucio and Elinton may well be the base of this clap. The rest can translate Zico’s offensive lines into reality by meandering through with a samba and bharatnatyam fusion.

Four Brazilians oversaw the training with started with warm up exercises. The players were then divided into groups of thirteen and put through routines supervised by Zico’s back up start. Since most spoke Brazilian (Portuguese) a translator was at hand. The players were then split into pairs for the last part of exercises that lasted roughly for around forty minutes.

Ball possession, endurance and mental cohesiveness formed the remaining part of training that spread for almost an hour. The 5 versus 5 methods was employed in this session.

Last year’s pick Mandar Rao Desai   and Laximikant Kattimani stood out amongst the rest of the Indian players in training .From the manner training was crystallising a picture began to emerge on why football is not only about skill. Like in life, thinking helps let the ball flow flawlessly.