The ride from his village Velaso Pale to the nearby mountain top and back took him a little over two hours. “The view from the top of the mountain is pure bliss. During the monsoon, it’s all green. The changing colours of the sky reflecting on the sea made me a bit philosophical at times. I generally used to cycle alone, though on certain days my friends joined me,” Glan says. “Cycling up and down the slope helped me tone myself further. The view was just a bonus.”

“I have understood that I need to build more on my strength — I need to be muscular. Coach Stimac always keeps mentioning it to us. I am working out in the gym and even on my diet to build more muscles and strength.”

Glan made his International debut against Qatar in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers earlier this June. “At the International level, it is played at an extremely fast pace. You don’t get much time on the ball, or shall I say – you don’t get any time at all. Under such circumstances decision-making becomes immensely crucial, your time on the ball, evading your marker and then passing,” Glan quips.

From across the table, you get a view of his hair from close — big, curly, and that wet look. His infectious smile strikes you further.

“As you can see, it’s no more that big. I have trimmed it,” he grins. “I had decided before that I will trim it when I go back home. It will grow to its normal size by the time we go into the bubble again,” he glides his fingers through his hair as he smiles again.

‘From when do you have this hairstyle?’

“In school, it could have never happened. It was during the Academy days that I began to grow it big. I have always had a weakness for big hair,” he murmurs. “But it comes at a price. I need to groom it regularly and apply all the creams and the gel. It takes quite a bit of a time,” Glan informs.

At the ongoing National camp, Glan is an epitome of concentration. “Today, I am more confident as a player but I need to be a bit more attacking in the final third,” he quips, as he looks out of the window and stares at the majestic VYBK Stadium.

“Isn’t the stadium majestic? Or is the view of it from our rooms more majestic?” Glan turns to you. “The facilities here in Kolkata are just awesome. Where else in India can you walk to your training ground from the team hotel. Here we don’t need to cross any road, wait for any traffic. It’s such fun to be walking to the training pitch,” he smiles again.

“The focus among the players has already shifted to not just the Friendlies against Nepal but the bigger aim – gaining a qualification to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023. We are taking it step-by-step, match-by-match.”

CREDITS- AIFF MEDIA

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Goa, July 14, 2021: Glan Martins has signed a new three-year contract at FC Goa following his impressive debut season in the Indian Super League last time around. The new deal will see the Indian international wear his beloved orange till the summer of 2024.

 The central midfielder became a vital cog in Juan Ferrando’s side in the second half of the season following a deadline day switch from ATK Mohun Bagan in January. The man from Velsao has looked completely at home ever since donning the FC Goa colours for the first time in February in a game against NorthEast United.

 Since then, Glan has started in 12 of the 14 matches he has been available for the Club, including 5 of the 6 AFC Champions League games the Gaurs played in April.

 Martins has impressed mightily in midfield with his tenacious and energetic displays, helping the Gaurs qualify for the playoffs for a record fourth-time running. His displays at the centre of the park didn’t go unnoticed as he saw himself being awarded his first national cap in June – starting all three games in India’s World Cup qualifiers.

 “It’s really exciting for me and my family to sign this three-year deal with the club,” Martins told the official FC Goa website after putting pen to paper until at least 2024.

 “I’ve grown so much here at this club in a very short time, both on and off the pitch. I would like to think that I am now more aware of what is expected of me, I know what I need to bring to the table.

 “I feel like I’m in a position now where I’m finally starting to realise my potential and give my all for the cause.

 “There is more that I can do here at FC Goa to help the team. I want to play in the Champion League again. I want to win trophies here, not only for the Club and the team, but also for the amazing people of Goa. I’m really excited to see what we can go on and achieve in the coming years.”

 Juan Ferrando, FC Goa’s Head Coach also expressed his delight about Glan’s new contract. “The first thing I remember when anyone tells me about Glan is the first time he came to training. I could feel that he was really hungry. He wanted to play, to participate. He wanted to get in and make a difference. That’s something I really value – someone who has the drive and has character to take decisions on the field.

 “I am so happy to have him now back in the team for the long run. He is a real professional who improves our team.”

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGM-c6zsKOM

CREDITS- FC GOA MEDIA

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He had helped Sporting Clube de Goa and Churchill Brothers to many a memorable victory on that hallowed turf. And yet there he was – struggling for playing time in his own backyard.

He had been the mainstay in all of the teams he had been playing for in the previous years, but the ISL was a different ball game. He was a central midfielder who many admired but not ‘many’ took a punt on him.

“I am glad that ATK Mohun Bagan gave me the opportunity to compete in the ISL. Without that stint, maybe I am not the player I am today with the determination to show people what I am all about,” said Glan Martins.

He had been the mainstay in all of the teams he had been playing for in the previous years, yet the early part of the 2020/21 season saw him struggle to even make the matchday squad. Going into the game against Kerala, he had not featured in the previous three (not even in the matchday squad for two of them).

By the time the Kerala game was done (one which they won), it was again the same harrowing feeling in the guts of another match going by as he watched from the sidelines as an unused substitute.

“I know I was moving up a notch and the ISL would not be easy, but of course, I was disappointed with the lack of opportunities,” remarked Glan. “I had been waiting to play in the ISL for a long time. It can get a bit frustrating.”

Message 1

At around 10:30 that night, upon arrival at the team hotel, a message changed it all.

“It was my agent’s name on the screen with a WhatsApp notification,” Glan recollects.

“He asked me, ‘There is a chance FC Goa will make a move for you. Would you like that?’ I just typed ‘Yes’ and sent it. I was just so excited and nervous at the same time.

“You see, everyone in my family is an FC Goa fan. Even when I got a chance to play in the ISL at the beginning of the season when I told my mother the news, her first question was whether FC Goa had asked for me or not.”

A few minutes later his agent called again.

“He just told me to stay awake,” Glan recollected on a Zoom call – the reality of the modern interactions. “He just said if it was to happen, it has to happen in the next few hours, so I should not fall asleep.”

And he made sure that he did not. In the space of the next few hours, Glan completed all formalities and as India slept, the midfielder woke up to his dream move.

“I called my mother straight away. I had not played that day and she was thinking I would be sad. She was surprised I was happy and then I broke the news,” Glan says with a beaming smile on his face. “That was a great moment.”

Message 2

“The time to adapt and adjust was very little for me at FC Goa at the beginning. After finishing my period of quarantine, the coach asked me to meet with him,” recalls Glan about his initial days with the team. “We had a session where he explained how he wants his team to play and where he sees me fitting in.

“He told me that he has confidence in my abilities and most importantly, not to be afraid of making mistakes as long as I can learn from them.”

The midfielder made his debut on February 4, coming on as a substitute as injuries forced Juan Ferrando into putting his new signing into the thick of things. 4 days later, he started against Mumbai City FC and the rest, as they say, is history.

That was the night when many people around the country and world spoke of his name – now combined with exasperated breathe as he produced what would later turn out to be FC Goa’s Fans’ Goal of The Season.

“When I received the ball I saw space ahead of me. I drove forward a bit before shooting. As a player, you always know when you have hit a ball well. And that was as sweetly I have ever,” said Glan while looking back at his only ISL goal so far. “I didn’t see the ball travel. When I looked up, the ball was past the keeper and thudded into the back of the net.”

The 26-year-old built on his performances throughout the season and by the end of the ISL season, he had become a vital cog in the FC Goa blueprint under Juan Ferrando.

And then came the AFC Champions League.

The Gaurs put up a defiant show. It was not only characterised by only grit but also a healthy appetite to play the game in the way FC Goa has been known to play – with poise on the ball. The opening two games saw Juan Ferrando’s men battle two points up against some of the biggest names in Asian football.

By the end of it all, they had more than just rubbed shoulders with the big boys of the continent, they had given a whole country hope. And in between all this, a message arrived on Glan’s phone again.

“It was after one of the games. I had just changed and got hold of my phone that I saw a message. It was the manager of the national team asking me for a number of details and documents,” Glan remembers again with a smile on his face.

“I knew what it meant. I called my mother to tell her the news. I remember sitting on the bus thinking of what had happened in the past four months. It was like a plot for a film. But I am not a hero, I am just Glan Martins.”

CREDITS- FC GOA MEDIA

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The Gaurs, representing India in the apex continental club competition for the first time, have surprised one and all with their performance, and currently sit in second spot on the Group E table, with two points from as many games. However, they now face the 2020 ACL runners-up Persepolis, who occupy top-spot on the table, having won both their games so far.

“Nothing more than maybe arguably the toughest test of my career. They come with a reputation which is earned and now it is our turn to grow further and earn a reputation of our own. I am really looking forward to the game,” said Glan Martins. “We are going to enjoy the moment for now but we have to mentally put the results behind and prepare for Persepolis.”

The side from Iran are themselves wary of the threat that the Indian side poses, having troubled both Al Rayyan (Qatar) and Al Wahda (UAE) in the first two matches. Martins believes that the mental effort involved in matches against such teams, is what has helped Goa thus far.

“The level, of course, is higher. More than just the physical effort, we have to be mentally focused all the time as any weakness will be punished at this level. And the hard work, that cannot be attributed to one player, we all have to put our best foot forward and keep helping each other,” said the midfielder.

The 26-year-old has been receiving praises from all quarters in recent times, with the Al Wahda FC head coach Henk ten Cate saying, “He’s a very good midfielder. I saw him, and I liked him a lot”. However, Martins chose to stay humble amidst such praises.

“Well, I will say I am flattered. I am happy that I can be a big enough problem for other teams that their coach has taken note. All this is great and we are enjoying the moment but we still have four tough matches to look forward to,” Martins quipped.

Glan Martins is someone who has moved forward through the ranks in Indian Football. He burst onto the scene with Churchill Brothers FC Goa in the Hero I-League 2019-20 season and followed that up with a move to the Hero ISL by signing with ATK Mohun Bagan, before making a mid-season move to FC Goa, where he has been shining not only on the domestic level, but on the continental arena as well.

“Well, each of the leagues come with a challenge of its own. And I feel, whichever team I have played for in the leagues I have been in, I have always given my all. And I continue to do so. A crucial thing for me is the desire to get better. Even after two good results (in the ACL), I want to improve more,” said Glan.

The 26-year-old further stated that the meticulous attention to detail at Goa has helped him improve as a player.

“The AFC Champions League needs you to be at your best. After coming to FC Goa, I feel it has been a move that has really helped me grow as a player. We have a ready plan ahead of every game. We study what they do and put in a plan in practice. This meticulous attention to details was not there earlier and that has really helped me blossom,” he said.

CREDITS: AIFF MEDIA

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