FC GOA flies to Rio for Pre-Season.

by Nancy Singh August 29, 2016

. FC goa

FC Goa has left to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to prepare for the upcoming Hero Indian Super League(ISL) season. 12 Indian players from the squad departed from Dabolim International Airport on 29th August. International players will join their teammates in Brazil.

Fulganco Cardozo, selected for the national team’s encounter against Puerto Rico will join at a later date. Sanjay Balmuchu and Raju Gaikwad will also join the team later due to commitments with their parent club.

Head coach Zico explains the idea behind taking the team to his home country. Stating it will benefit the team against some tough opposition in the upcoming season of ISL. “Our pre-season will be here in Rio where we are playing friendly matches against some strong teams. This will immensely benefit our Indian and foreign players. Our thinking is that if our pre-season this year is as good as it was last year, the chances of success will increase significantly. So, for me, our pre-season in Brazil will be a trump card for us,” he mentioned.

Mandar Rao Dessai recently travelled to Villareal CF in Spain for a two-week training expressed the need for quality training facilities. “Football in India and abroad is completely different. I’m sure that in Brazil, we will have better training facilities and we will get to play against strong teams. This will help us develop our skills and it will help the team understand each other before the ISL starts.” he explained.

The team will have a run of pre-season games against local opposition before returning on 24th September to Goa ahead of the start of the new season.