FC Goa’s Keenan Almeida wovs to give his best for the cause

by FC Admin October 11, 2015

Panaji, 10 October 2015: Keenan Almeida did the honours for FC Goa when he found the back of the net to steal a point in the 1-1 draw against Atletico de Kolkata on Wednesday.

Although Leo Moura was acknowledged as the “Gaur of the Match” for his moments in the last match, that takes nothing away from Almeida’s 82nd minute stunning strike after Arata Izumi has handed the visitors the lead in the 13th minute.

This being the player’s first appearance in the Indian Super League (ISL), Almeida however prefers to keep his feet on the ground.

“Being a star is not important. What is important is that the team does well, that we (FC Goa) do well in the tournament,” he said.

Being released by I-League club Sporting Clube de Goa who chose not to renew his contract, Almeida missed out on the domestic draft before FC Goa signed him on additional quota.

“My fingers were crossed,” expressed the 24-year-old. “I was waiting for something to happen. ISL was doubtful but with I-League I had a club. I was happy when FC Goa approached me and signed me up on additional quota. It’s about doing well in practice sessions and giving your best. Then it depends on the coach if you fit in the plans of the coach.”

The head coach in Brazilian legend Zico himself is impressed by Almeida’s contributions toward his side and praised the defender’s versatility in scoring the goal.

“He (Almeida) is a very good player and I know what he is able to do. I always tell him, ‘don’t go over what we can do, do what you can do’ and he is doing very well in helping the team out in the defensive area which is the first function of the back sides,” Zico continued.

“He (Almeida) has been doing very well physically and technically, like supporting Romeo [Fernandes] in occupying spaces. Normally Denson [Devadas] is there but he was [taken] off. Keenan was there and he got the rebound to score. So I am happy.