Zico looking to make FC Goa champions

Brazilian legend Zico is leaving no stone unturned to make FC Goa a champion side going into the second edition of Indian Super League.
In the inaugural season last year, FC Goa won many hearts with their spirited comeback, which saw them finish second at the end of the group stage only to bow out in the semifinals against eventual champions Atletico de Kolkata, and that too in the tiebreaker.
Zico, just like scores of Goans, was reported to be shattered with the loss and has now taken it upon himself to turn the fortunes of the Goa franchise.
He has personally selected all the foreign players in the team. There are seven Brazilian players in the squad, many of them known to Zico, while the others like Spanish midfielder Jofre Mateu Gonzalez, a ISL champion with ATK, for example, have proven track record.

"The Brazilian players are not in the team only because they are Brazilians. They are all good players," Zico said.
Leading the FC Goa challenge will be former Brazil captain and 2002 World Cup winner Lucio.

The Brazilian won everything that is on offer in the world of football, including a treble while at Inter Milan, and is now looking forward to a new, exciting challenge in the ISL.
The marquee player for FC Goa will lend solidity at the back and is expected to partner French defender Gregory Arnolin, the lone surviving foreign player from last year's squad.
Zico has explained that the absence of players from last season was not entirely by choice and said players like Bruno Pinheiro, Zohib Islam Amiri and goalkeeper Jan Seda all had contracts with other clubs.

"There is very little we could do about players who were already contracted with other clubs. I wanted many of my foreign players to return but we could not get their services," said Zico.
The departure of Andre dos Santos, who topped the player ratings in the ISL last year, has not attracted as much commentary as the departure of Pinheiro, who showed remarkable composure in defence and midfield, and Jan Seda, winner of the Golden Glove.
There is, however, a fair chance that the new signings will prove Zico right.
Elinton Andrade, recently won the Beach Soccer World Cup with Portugal, will be the first-choice goalkeeper. Besides Lucio, Brazilian players like Leo Moura, who captained Flamengo for a long time, young Jonatan Lucca, Victor Simoes and Reinaldo are all established names in the football world.

Among the domestic players, all eyes will be on Romeo Fernandes, the first Indian to play for a top-flight Brazilian club.
Other Indians like Narayan Das, Pronay Halder and local talent Mandar Rao Desai are expected to fill the five available slots for domestic players.
Last season, FC Goa were slow off the blocks as Zico took time to get to know the players, forcing him to improvise. That made Goa's achievements all the more impressive.
FC Goa kicks off their Hero ISL 2015 campaign with three home games on the trot -- the first one against Delhi Dynamos on October 4.