New Delhi: In a development that is set to significantly raise the profile of the Indian Super League, legendary Brazilian Zico was on Tuesday roped in as the head coach of FC Goa for the franchise-based football tournament, which is scheduled to begin from October 12.
“FC Goa is proud to announce that the legendary Brazilian Football player Arthur Antunes Coimbra [Zico] has agreed to be the manager [head coach] of their team that will play in the Indian Super League,” a press release said.
The 61-year-old signed the contract in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Representatives of FC Goa will travel to Brazil shortly to help Zico complete the visa formalities and bring him to Goa soon.
Franchise owners Srinivas Dempo, Dattaraj Salgaocar and Venugopal Dhoot expressed happiness and welcomed Zico to FC Goa. They described it as a proud moment for the franchise and said they felt honoured that a football legend of the stature of Zico had agreed to coach FC Goa.
“Zico’s signing was made possible due to the efforts of Amaury Nunes and Beto D’Solva,” the release added.
Zico, often called ‘White Pele’, made 71 international appearances from 1976 to 1986. The former midfielder, considered one of the best playmakers and free-kick takers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, scored 48 goals for Brazil.
He had also stints as coach of national teams of Japan (2002-06) and Iraq (2011-12), besides being at the helm of club sides like Kashima Antlers of Japan (1999), Fenerbahce of Turkey (2006-08) and CSKA Moscow (2009) and Al Gharafa of Qatar (2013-14).
The Indian Super League was inspired by cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL).
It will feature eight franchises based out of Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune and include former stars such as Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet and Robert Pires.
They will be joined by emerging Indian talent in a bid to boost the profile of football in a country where the main sport is cricket.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar is among the high-profile names involved in the venture in his role as co-owner of the Kochi franchise.
