Q. What would be the ideal score so that you can level the advantage in Goa?
A. Robert Pires- If Atletico de Kolkata team has to win, it is important that they score. But if FC Goa wins tomorrow, it’s definitely an advantage. But I repeat, we are well prepared, we are strong and we are ready to defend and ready to score.

Q. Are you playing tomorrow?
A. Robert Pires- I don’t know. You will come to know about it tomorrow.

Q. The first match you lost and also incident happened which involved you. While the second match was a draw. So is it like a revenge match for your? Secondly, which three Indian players have impressed you the most?
A. Robert Pires- I don’t like the word revenge. It is not right to discuss now what happened with the Atletico de Kolkata team manager. The most important thing now is the semifinal match tomorrow and the most important thing for my team is to go to Mumbai for the finals. For the second question, I am really impressed with players like Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Rao Dessai, Narayan Das who have a great future.

Q. Do you have any fear factor with regards to referees tomorrow?
A. Robert Pires- No I don’t. We need to respect the referees’ decision whether it is good or bad. He puts rules on the field. The most important thing now is to concentrate on the game tomorrow and the game on Wednesday in Goa.

Q. It is incredible that at the age you have been able to sustain yourself in the game. Do you see yourself coming back for the next year?
A. Robert Pires- I hope so. It depends on the team, not on me. I am ready and I love football. I have deep passion for football. For me this is a great and important opportunity. I love the country and the people here. I love trying new food. For me, India is truly incredible.

Q. When you went to J-League, you had a complete different role. But after J-League the Japanese football has completely transformed. How do you see the Indian football transforming?
A. Zico- I don’t like to make any comparisons between Japan and India. They are completely different to each other. In Japan, it was different, since there was no league and when we started J-League, we created a new league. But in India we already have a league and now we also have ISL. I think for Indian football to develop I-League and ISL should merge or else ISL will be just one good event every year. I wish that the two leagues merge and I am here to help in the development of football. I am very happy with the Indian players in my team and I am trying my best to help them. But now it is up to the authorities to see what is best for the country.

Q. What are your views on refereeing?
A. Zico- We prepare to play football. I don’t worry about the referee. I worry about my team and the opponent. I really regret that sometimes some decisions taken are bad like last time. In the last game, Bruno didn’t touch Fikru, but still we got a penalty and they scored and lost a player. That was not fair.

Q. What do you have to say about the turf?
A. Zico- Like I have said earlier, I don’t like this turf. But every team has come and played on this turf and so have we and we will play tomorrow as well. Since Atletico de Kolkata played here for seven times, they are adapted to this turf and it is an advantage for them. But I hope that next year, every ground will be the same everywhere with real grass.

Q. Your team has gone through a transformation after the inclusion of Santos. So would you want to play Robert Pires tomorrow?
A. Zico- I have 26 players ready to play tomorrow.

Q. What are your plans after ISL? There were nine changes in the last match. What are the chances of playing all the nine players in the first 11?
A. Zico- My plans after ISL are to go back to Brazil and spend time with my family and play with my grand children and also to take rest. To answer yor second question, you will come to know about it one hour before the match tomorrow.

Q. You have been here for a long time and have played against Atletico de Kolkata few days ago. Is this an advantage for you?
A. Zico- There is never any advantage in such games. The only advantage that we can have is if the opponent team comes to play with seven players.

Q. The team has been performing consistently but was not taking their chances. Looking back would you say that the win against Delhi Dynamos was the turning point for the team? Secondly, would you say that tomorrow’s match is a clash between two types of football cultures?
A. Zico- Of course a victory is always important. The game against Delhi has definitely boosted their confidence. This victory has given us lot of power and strength and it is the fruit of our hard work and good practice. To answer your second question, it is true that both the teams are very strong. Everyone who has reached in the semi finals will make the most of their own style of playing.

Q. What would be the ideal score so that you can level the advantage in Goa? How many goals you want to score?
A. Zico- So it is not that it will be an advantage to play in Goa since we lost against them in Goa. It is two different kinds of game. We have games of 180 minutes and the first game is going to decide everything.

The post Confident Zico at FC Goa pre semi-final match press conference appeared first on Football Counter.

Q. How does it feel to play in Kolkata against Kolkata?
A. Debabrata- This is not a new experience for me. In fact I have played in Kolkata against Kolkata couple of times before. I actually enjoy it. Tomorrow’s match is very critical for the Kolkata team, considering their game performances in the last few matches. Atletico de Kolkata is a very strong team. Right at this moment, the team is going through a bad phase. They are not dependent on their match with us. They have their own qualities and can make up with them.

Q. How is your team unity now?
A. Debabrata- The unity in our team is very strong. We have consistently played because of the same. Our performance has been consistent from the start to the semi final. We were just not getting the results initially. Otherwise our performance has been quite good and so has been our team unity.

Q. You have already reached the semi finals. From that perspective, how serious are you for tomorrow’s match? And how do you view tomorrow’s match? Any particular player from the Atletico de Kolkata team you are particularly worried about?
A. Debabrata- Each match is critical to our success, so each match is very important to us. Atletico de Kolkata is obviously a very strong team; therefore there is no one particular player that can be named.

Q. There was a phase when you played well, but were not getting results. How difficult was it for you to keep faith on yourself and on your coach?
A. Debabrata- It was actually a reverse situation. Despite the losses, the coach kept his faith high on us and the team and encouraged us all along.

Q. How does it feel to be training under a legendary player like Zico?
A. Debabrata- This is a great experience for me. I am immensely enjoying this entire experience. This training experience is like a dream come true for me.

Q. Eight years back when you came to Kolkata, you came as a coach for Japan. You had a disappointing experience on this ground. You have come back on this ground with a different team. How would you describe your comeback and what do you expect?
A. Zico- Last time we had come here for the World Cup qualifiers and we were expecting everything to be right. I was not disappointed at all last time because we had received good response from the viewers here. So I have good memories of Kolkata. The only difference I see now is that last time it was real grass and now it is artificial turf and I don’t think it is suitable to play football.

Q. How difficult is it to put out a team for a game like this where you don’t want your players to rest and yet you don’t want to lose the match?
A. Zico- I already have made a decision about tomorrow’s game and I have already kept the team ready for it and you will get to know tomorrow.

Q. Can you tell us about the first eleven for tomorrow?
A. Zico- You will get to know about it tomorrow.

Q. Who would you rather face in the semi finals, Chennaiyin FC or Atletico de Kolkata?
A. Zico- We can’t choose. We have qualified for the semifinals; we are ready and are well prepared to face any team.

Q. You have coached many teams around the world. Considering the circumstances here, your team was last at one point and the qualified for the semifinals. Would you say that this has been one of the best moments for you as a coach?
A. Zico- Of course it s one of the greatest moments of my career because it is not easy to have a turnaround like this just before the semifinals. Moreover, now every team is fighting for the top spot.

Q. Would you ask your boys to restrain temper on the pitch tomorrow?
A. Zico- I always tell all the teams that I have coached, to go on the field and play football and nothing else.

Q. What is the strong point for Atletico de Kolkata?
A. It is a great team with good and experienced players and due to which they have reached in the top four.

Q. Do you think Andre Santos is the best player in your team?
A. Zico- He is one of the best players since he is doing really well. But there are other players also in the team who are doing great.

The post FC Goa pre match press conference transcript – FC Goa vs Atletico de Kolkata appeared first on Football Counter.

Q. How does it feel after sealing a spot in the semi finals?
A. Zico- It’s a feeling of mission accomplished and all our hardwork has paid off. I am really thankful to the players because they trusted in their work. After the first phase very few people expected us to reach in the semi finals. But we believed that we will get out of this situation and the players never stopped working seriously. They continued to work hard and relentlessly and the proof of it is that we have reached this position.

Q. You squad has many young players like Narayan Das and Mandar. Do you think that that they have significantly over the period of time?
A. Zico- I always try to give them a bit of my experience as a football player as a coach and they have listened to me and believed in what I am teaching them and we all are seeing the improvement in them. I always tell them to believe in themselves and do their best and the results are that they are doing well. My role as a coach is to teach them and they are following it.

Q. There was a big section in the crowd which wanted Robert Pires to come on filed. Did he listen to them and did he think about joining the game?
A. Zico- I have to prepare my team to play football. If there was an opportunity I would have put him in the game.

Q. How does it feel after getting the emerging player award? Has Zico improved you in every game?
A. Narayan- First of all I would like to thank the coach and all the players because of whom we are in the semi finals. We played as a team and we all are very happy. We were confident that we will reach the semi finals.

Q. What is going to be the mentality of the team in the semi finals?
A. Narayan- No we have to prepare for the semi finals and practice even harder. We have to improve on all the things that the coach will tell us. Next we have is the knockout and for that we have to be more serious practice better.

Q. Most of the players are from Dempo Sports Club. Did you have to make any changes in the game plan? If yes, what changes did you make?
A. Zico- It is always good to have some players who know each other. We have many different players in the team and they have learned to play with each other. Now this is not Dempo team, but FC Goa team. Most of the players were chosen from the Dempo team, but in my opinion Goa has other strong teams as well. It would have been better if strong players were chosen from other teams as well and make one strong Goan team. But the players that we have now in the FC Goa team are best and very well representing Goa.

Q. Which part of the game you need to improve before the semis?
A. Zico- I don’t think we can make that decision at this stage. We have to keep our focus on the game. In the semi finals we cannot make any mistakes since its just two games and goal difference can change everything. So we have to be very careful.

The post Our hardwork has paid off – Zico appeared first on Football Counter.

Q. Coach, are you happy with the win today?
A. Zico- Of course I am very happy. We received an amazing reaction on the ground today and yet we had our feet on the ground. I am happy with my players’ performance. They gave their best in the practice matches and this is the fruit of that. I am very happy with the fans reactions who love football and Goa is very well represented here. I would like to congratulate the fans for the victory.

Q. How do you sense your chances against Chennai and Kolkata?
A. Zico- We are taking one step at a time. Now we have to focus only on Chennai next. They had a very good result which puts them in a very good spot. We are going to play with the same disposition and same desire and we will try to get more points

Q. There have been hardly any changes in the team in the last few matches. Is it because everything is going right or fear that things might go wrong?
A. Zico- In Brazil we always say that the team that is winning, doesn’t change. So we have kept the same team and haven’t moved the players. Many players are doing well and they have no injuries, so there is no need for a change.

Q. How difficult is to leave Robert Pires out of the matches on a consistent basis?
A. Zico- I don’t think I need to talk about that. I made the change in the midfield and they are playing well. But I want Pires to continue with the practice and so when he gets the opportunity to play, he is fit to play.

Q. The coach has selected you to play consistently. How does it feel to be replacing the likes of Clifford Miranda and playing in the final 11?
A. Mandar- I give my best in the every practice session and my teammates help me. Even Clifford Miranda helps me in everything. I feel great to play in his place

The post Happy with the team performance – Zico appeared first on Football Counter.

Q. The team seems to be picking up at the right time. What advice do you give to the team to ward off competition team?
A. Zico- I always tell them to keep the seriousness that they have been having till now. We should always respect the opposing team and play football.

Q. How much do you enjoy playing in your current position and also what do you have to say about your performance today?
A. Santos- I have played in this position before and all the credit goes to Zico since he put me in this position and he knew that I can do well in this position. I am very happy with my performance today, but I know without help from my team it would have not been possible. Like coach said, have to continue playing well and not take anything for granted. We have to keep working hard and look to achieve our target.

Q. Are you happy with the refereeing today?
A. Zico- I have no complaints about the main referee, but the line referee I am not very pleased. His role is not to tell when it is a foul, but to help the main referee with off-sides. But here he was refereeing himself. I am not just talking about the referees in India, but around the world. I don’t agree with the role of the line referee around the world. His role is to help the main referee.

Q. Do you think FC Goa should have won with more margins?
A. Zico- We are not complaining. The opposing team did very good goalkeeping. It shows why he was the main goalkeeper in the England team. I think the team deserved the victory that we got today and I would have been satisfied even if Goa had won 1-0. But we saw how we dominated the game today.

Q. With this win, Goa is in third position. Do you think it is a secured position?
A. Zico- No team is safe. Maybe Chennai, but other teams are not safe. With the third position we are not taking anything for granted.

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Q. In every game played, FC Goa has been dominating in the first half, and second half the opposition dominates. But this time the tam managed to keep the lead. How crucial was the second goal to seal the victory?
A. Zico- Even if the second goal was not scored, we would have won anyway. Everyone has their own way of playing. We had the opportunity to play well in the both halves and due to which we could score and win the game. In Pune, we had created many opportunities to score but didn’t score, but they created few opportunities, scored and won the game. Today they had opportunity to score and they didn’t score and we scored and won the game.

Q. Defence has always been a strong point of the team, but today it looked weak. Do you think that Jan Seda made the defence look better?
A. Gregory Arnolin- We have always been humble in our way of playing. We have eleven players who are playing on the pitch and more outside the pitch. I think everyone has to do their own work. I think it was a fair victory since everyone worked very hard for it.

Q. You have always had a main role in the defence, how does that feel? Also, you always create chances to score, how does it feel when you don’t score?
A. Gregory Arnolin- I play for the team and always work to help my team. My first role in the team is defence or else they won’t be able to score. It doesn’t matter who scored, everyone is happy with the victory.

Q. We saw a new partnership between Gregory and Bruno. Your thoughts on Bruno’s performance.
A. Zico- As the time goes we understand the players better. I know that Bruno’s original position is defence, so I could use him today. I spoke to him about the change and he said that he was ready to play in that position and we all saw how well he played.

The post FC Goa vs FC Pune City post-match press conference addressed by Zico appeared first on Football Counter.

Q. What would Goa like to take from this match?
A. Zico- We still have hope because we have three matches at home. We have to work really very hard to recover these points which we lost today. The important thing is that the team is showing reaction power and I hope that we will be able to show the same in the next match.

Q. Do you think this was the opportunity to catch up with the top teams?
A. Zico- Of course it would have been great if we had won the match today. We would have moved ahead of Mumbai.

Q. Minimum how many points you think one will get?
A. Zico- The way the tournament is going one can get 18 points to be in the top four.

The post FC Goa post-match press conference addressed by Zico appeared first on Football Counter.

Q. Do you think that you have less time to catch up with the top teams?
A. Youness- We have six more games and 18 points to take and we are going to do everything to reach in the top four.

Q. What went right in the last game and what went wrong in the earlier games?
A. Zico- In the last game we were able to finalise better and the earlier games we did create many opportunities to score, but were unable to do so.

Q. How difficult has it been for the players to adapt different playing surfaces?
A. Zico- I have no complaints. All the ground we have played have been good. And this one seems to be the best

Q. From your playing days how much has football changed?
A. Zico- Everything has changed. The only thing that hasn’t changed is playing football

Q. What do you think was the reason for team’s slow start? Is there anything that you have worked upon to try and improve your team’s performance?
A. Zico- Maybe because our players were being reckless and they were trying to do things by themselves and also the pressure to win the game. Every time we go on to the field we go to win. We create opportunities, we play football. So if we were not doing it, I would have been worried and FC Goa has been playing good football. Now in the second phase, it has become little complicated. The teams that are there in the top four are playing defensive game, they are not taking much risks and we have to take risks. But we are not going to change our philosophy. We will continue to play the way we have been playing.

Q. Coach you spoke about the team playing beautiful football. In the second phase, will the emphasis be only on playing beautiful football or winning the game?
A. Zico- No my philosophy has always been to win the game. If I have to change my philosophy, I will stop. I want my players to go victory and don’t play bad football.

Q. How are you approaching tomorrow’s game against Mumbai?
A. Zico- We are looking forward to neutralizing the best players of Mumbai the team and I think it is an equal game. They can be sure that we are playing to win and attack.

The post FC Goa pre-match press conference addressed by Zico appeared first on Football Counter.

Zico: Well, there may be

Any injured players. Is Youness injured ?

Zico: Not Youness. Gregory’s knee is injured a bit, but he’s okay.

The team is playing well, but is lacking in their finish. Ladyluck not in your favor?

Zico:No. I don’t believe in luck. Maybe we are making the wrong choices when it comes to scoring goals. We are not paying attention to some of the things we work on during trainings.  We have to practice well so that we can do what we are supposed to on when we get onto the field for a match. During practice sessions I try and bring every inch of my experience to show the players what to expect, what can happen, what to avoid so that the team can focus on what they have learnt during training sessions. But we have to carry on. We have to believe in ourselves. We have to be brave and be perseverant. The road is long. As long as there is life we have to survive. We are breathing.

ISL is a short competition. Is there time to share your philosophy with the team or do you have to stick to sharing some basic principles?

Zico:I didn’t choose the players. So we need to understand the personality and skills of players and do our best within their capacity. We have so many players in the same position and not many in other positions. But we need to adapt and do the best we can in the circumstances.  We have to adapt to the characteristics and skills of the players we have onboard. For example; we don’t have players on the sides, wingers, who can mark well. The players I have are fast and skillful, but I can’t change their strengths overnight and ask them to mark players.

Mandar, Goan players have been playing well across teams. What’s lacking in the home team despite home support?

Mandar:We are trying hard and playing well, but we haven’t been able to score many goals. But we have been training well and look forward to tomorrow’s game

The team have mostly conceded goals on counter attack. Are you working on this aspect?

Zico: Yes. We are working on it not happening again. But when the other team scores first, we have to move forward to attack. Our defense is then open and that’s when we have the counter attacks.

How does it feel living in a country where football is not the number one sport, which is the case in Brazil.

Zico:I hope that will be the case in India one day. It reminds me of the time I spent in Japan. Football was not the 1^st or even the 2^nd most popular sport. Maybe it was the 7^th. But now in Japan, football and baseball are fighting for the first place. And we are here to change the  situation in India.

But we don’t need to compare between cricket and football. Indian has a population of over 1 billion people. There is place for all sports and for sure there is space for football. I would like to see sports like volleyball, basketball, swimming, athletics and other sports because sports is good for people. In Brazil, US, Japan and some other countries, there are many sports being played and I hope that will be the case in India as well. Sports is good for the country.

Do you see potential in India to be a footballing nation in the future?

Zico: If we can change some mindsets, maybe we can see it someday. We need to mainly make changes in the diet of sportsmen and in the grassroots/youth development programmes. An athlete needs to maintain a proper diet. I say this not in the context of the culture of the country. But we need to encourage players and athletes to follow a specific diet which is catered to their specific needs.

The post FC Goa pre-match press conference addressed by Coach Zico and player Mandar Rao Desai appeared first on Football Counter.

How important is the return of Robert Pires?

Zico: His return is very important because he is a great player, a great professional and I thought it was a bit unfair that he was banned for two games so it’s very important that we have him back.

What are your comments on the Kerala Blasters team? any thought on tomorrow’s game?

Zico: It is a team that is in the same situation as us. They have four points like us and I know it was very difficult for them to play all these games away. They are playing at home now and we need to be very cautious of this team.

FC Goa has conceded a lot of goals in the matches played but you have gone with the same back four for the last four matches. What is the thinking behind this? Are you still confided with the defense?

I think our problem is not our defense. We are losing so many opportunities in our forward line. We have created many opportunities in all the games we have played. Our defense has played very well and are doing their best. I trust my defense a lot.

Tolgay, how imp was the last win? Is this ground in Kochi lucky for you?

Tolgay: The win last week was very imp for our team. I believe in every match we have been dominating the game and controlling matches but have been unlucky in scoring goals. Our win in the last match kick started our ISL season. As for this ground, I have played once or twice before and have scored. It’s been a lucky ground for me. Hope it will be lucky for our team tomorrow.

There is no touchline standardisation from ground to ground. The technical area is 15 meters from the touchline here in Kochi as compared to other grounds. What are your views?

Zico: I respect the rules of the game. If it is this way what can I do? I can do only what is possible in the situation. In general it is a pity as we the coaches are used to being closer to the player so we can give directions to the players, but it is ok. We will do the best we can within what’s possible.

Santos has been starting in FC Goa’s games quiet regularly in the same position. Is that the best suitable position for Santos?

Zico: It was my first choice because we didn’t have so many players playing in this position. The only player we had was injured. If you look at games played by Andre Santos you will find he also plays as a forward/striker. Maybe a little more to the left but always forward.

This particular ground has a cricket pitch on it which has been covered with grass. Have you had a look at it? What do you think about it.

Zico: I haven’t see it yet so I will go have a look now. I hope it will be suitable for practice. Most of the grounds we have played at have been good and from what i have seen on television too they all look good. My only regret is that the most famous city for football, Kolkata, has an artificial turf. Even if it is allowed by FIFA, it is not a proper ground to play football. And it is not good for all the teams because they do not have the opportunity to practice on this ground. Only Kolkata is playing there. And everyone knows it is very difficult to play on an artificial turf compared to a real grass turf. This is an advantage for the Kolkata team because they are the only ones to practice there and play their home games there. No one else has the same opportunity. And I regret that ISL has not seen this before.

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