Said Andre Santos post his training session,”It is a pleasure that I got a chance to come to Goa. People received me very warmly. I am a bit tired because of the long journey but I am glad to be here. It is really amazing training with Zico and Robert Pires. The whole team accepted me warmly on the first day itself and i am sure we will put forward a very good tournament”

Talking about Andre Santos, coach Zico said,” It is really good that Andre Santos has come over in to the squad. He was the last piece that was missing, now we are a full team. His quality and experience will help the team a lot. Even though’ he has come in late, the team has accepted him and they are very excited too.

A youth product of Figueirense in Brazil, Santos participated and helped Brazil capture the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He joined EPL team Arsenal from Fenerbache in 2011 and eventually moved to Brazil to play with Gremio followed by Flamengo.

At the national level, André Santos was initially considered the heir to the throne occupied by Roberto Carlos. He represented the ‘Seleção’ in 24 matches, and was a part of the 2009 Confederations Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and 2011 Copa America squads.

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Thanks to this stint with FC Goa, Goan lads like Romeo or Rowilson Rodrigues are not only witnessing the Brazilian legend in flesh and blood, but are also soaking in the words of wisdom and techniques shared by Zico, the team’s marquee coach has on offer.

FC Goa’s Foreign Recruites

And of course there’s the other star French international and Arsenal star Robert Pires.
“Sometimes I can’t believe that I’m playing alongside Robert Pires and all these fantastic players. It’s a great learning for me on and off the field” said Romeo after his daily training session at Tilak Maidan, Vasco.

Over the last few weeks the boys at FC Goa have been going through rigorous training sessions under the expert eye of Zico. One of the finest players in the world in terms of strategy and professionalism, Zico has had an impressive coaching career since 2002 when he began coaching. And all the experience is bound to pay off for FC Goa and its players.

Said Portuguese FC Goa player Edgar Carvalho Figueria Marcelino, a former Portugal under-21 international, who rose through the ranks of the Sporting Lisbon academy, “It has been amazing training with the team. It has been especially great since we have a coach like Zico who was an exceptional player himself. Training with Zico is different every day. Some days he makes us train very rigorously and other days he just lets us be and lets us play our game, which is good since it helps us in understanding our game.” The well-travelled attacking midfielder has played in Spain, Netherlands, Cyprus, Morocco, and Oman, apart from his native Portugal before arriving into Goa.

Miguel Bruno Pereira Herlein echoed Edgar’s thoughts, “Zico has helped us a lot in improving our game. As and when we play he keeps giving us various tips on how we can improve. I think it’s a privilege that we are getting trained under him since he is such a great player. He has so much experience of coaching great teams and that experience is helping us a lot”.

After stops in Cyprus and Poland, as well as a brief return to Portugal, Pinheiro tasted success as part of the Maccabi Netanya team which earned promotion to Israel’s first division in 2013. Pinheiro has now made Goa his home for the next few weeks.

Haroon Amiri from Afghanistan who joined the squad three day ago said, “Being coached by Zico is a dream come true for any professional footballer. Its truly an honor”.

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FC Goa marquee player Robert Pires begins training with the team

Said Robert Pires post the training session, “It’s been a good first day. It’s a good feeling. I’m excited about the ISL and I think it’s going to be a big success. It’s an honour being coached by the legend Zico. I’ve enjoyed my first day of training”

Speaking on his first thoughts on Goa and India said Robert, “I received a warm welcome in Mumbai when I arrived and in Goa when I landed yesterday. It was nice to see so many fans who came to welcome me. I didn’t expect it. It was a pleasure. Thank you very much for the welcome.”

Pires was part of the French national squad which won the 1992 and 2000 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro finals respectively. He also represented France in the 1996 Olympic Games.

Pires’s club career is a trail of glory too. As a player he peaked during his six-year stint at Arsenal from 2000-06, where he was part of the squad which won three FA cups and two Premier League titles. He was also a part of the Arsenal squad nicknamed ‘The Invincibles’ which remained unbeaten through the season of 2003-04.

Pires has also represented FC Metz, Marseille, Villareal, Aston Villa and has played over 500 games in his career spanning over two decades. In the 79 games he played as a French international, Pires scored 14 goals.

Training has begun in full swing. FC Goa will train twice a day, Monday to Saturday at Tilak Maidan at 8am and 4pm.

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