Opponent watch – Sporting Club de Goa – Federation Cup 2016

by Siddharth Yadav April 30, 2016

Inform Mumbai FC are all set to host Sporting Club de Goa at Cooperage Stadium in the first leg of Federation Cup 2016 on Sunday evening. After ending their I-league campaign on a high note with two wins in their last two home games, The Yellow Submarines ended their campaign on 5^th position which is also a club record.

Their counterparts finished a place above on 4^th position after a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Salgaocar SC in their last I-league match.

Let’s have a brief look of the Goan side.

History

Sporting Clube de Goa came into existence in 1999, when the locals of Panjim decided to launch a football club after Cidade de Goa disbanded its football team. Thus, after Vasco Sports Club, Sporting became the second club of public shareholding in Goa. The club, built on the lines of Portuguese club Sporting Clube de Portugal, has made rapid strides in the national circuit. Sporting shot to prominence by an impressive performance in the 2001–02 Federation Cup, the team made it to the last four after victories over stronger teams like East Bengal and Indian Bank.

Sporting made its debut in the 2003–04 season of the Indian National Football League Premier Division, and were on the verge of winning their first league championship but lost out on the last day when Dempo pipped them to the title. Their season was marred by a horrific bus accident which ruled out 4 key players for the whole season, while several others were injured. Sporting entered the finals of 2005 Federation Cup, and emerged as the runner-up. In the following season, the club reached the finals once again, but lost in penalty shoot-out to Mohun Bagan. After getting relegated from the I-League in 2010 Sporting Goa participated in the 2011 I-League 2nd Division and won promotion by finishing in 2nd place.

Head Coach

Mateus Costa is the head coach of Sporting Club de Goa. He was appointed in January 2015 after dismissal of Oscar Bruzon. In the same season, Costa lead Sporting Goa into the last four of Federation Cup where they eventually lost out to winners Bengaluru FC.

Costa is known for his man management, the way he has handled some of Sporting’s players has been very beneficial for the club.

Costa’s side has also been undefeated this season against Mumbai FC as they have won once and shared the spoils the next time when they visited Mumbai in February.

Key Players

Sporting’s Captain Odafa Okolie has been their best player this season. The Nigerian Striker has netted six times in I-league and also assisted couple of times. His bolting run around the penalty area can cause a serious havoc in Mumbai’s defensive third. Midfielder Mahmoud Al Amnah can also prove to be a serious threat for Mumbai. In their stalemate at Cooperage earlier this season, Al Amnah had a tremendous game for the Goan club. He has made it into the starting line-up this season at thirteen occasions.

Victorino Fernandes, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Loveday Enyinnaya are some of the names in Sporting’s squad. They have played a major role in Sporting’s 4^th place finish.