Dubai: Former Brazil captain Lucio has set a high benchmark for himself and his FC Goa side as they brace for action in the second edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) starting next month.
Lucio, who is the marquee signing for the franchise that boasts Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli as one of its owners, is the big hope as Goa seek to improve on last year’s semi-final failure, when they were beaten by Atletico Kolkata FC. Another Brazilian legend, Zico — who is the Goa coach — has challenged his team to make it to the December 20 final on home turf.
Having spent the last two seasons with Sao Paulo and Palmeiras in his homeland, the 37-year-old Lucio feels he has enough football left in him to make an impact with his new club. And two important aspects that can potentially turn things in favour of FC Goa are the experience of coach Zico and the collective technical excellence of the squad.
“Ultimately, I think Zico’s long-standing experience first as a coach and then as a coach for a second year in the ISL, will count for a lot. Secondly, I have been impressed with the technical finesse and dedication being shown by the rest of the players, with some of the Indian boys also catching the eye,” Lucio told Gulf News at the Meydan Hotel, where the team is staying.
“I think half our task is accomplished with the dedication each one has shown. Now it is time to accomplish the other half.
“For my part, I will give everything I can to achieve the goals set before us. There is a lot of responsibility on me and I promise that I am here to win everything,” added the 2002 Fifa World Cup winner.
During their stay in the UAE, FC Goa will play five friendly matches, starting against Emirates Club in Ras Al Khaimah at 7pm on Friday. The following four matches will be against Al Shabab (September 15), Ajman (September 16), Al Jazira (September 19) and Al Shabab ‘B’ (September 20).
Meanwhile, East Bengal goalkeeper Luis Barreto landed in Dubai and joined the squad late on Tuesday. Barreto played a part in East Bengal’s sixth successive OC Blue Calcutta Football League title win with a 4-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Mohun Bagan before a sell-out crowd of 65,000 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday.
Three other players — Pranay Haldar, Narayan Das and Romeo Fernandes — who were all part of the India squad that lost 3-0 to Iran in Tuesday’s 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier, were due to land in Dubai late on Wednesday, giving coach Zico a full squad of 26 players to choose from for their first friendly on Friday.
