Flaws of Indian season exposed in FC Goa loss

FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando retained just three players from the previous game’s starting line-up as his side took on Iranian giants and Group E toppers Persepolis for the second time in the same week in the AFC Champions League, at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, on Friday. Heat, humidity and games in three days meant Persepolis boss Yahya Golmohammadi too rang in the changes, keeping just five players from the 2-1 on Tuesday.

Two goals stemmed from goalkeeper Navin Kumar’s errors but the gulf in the teams’ bench strength couldn’t have been more prominent than on Friday when last year’s runners-up Persepolis cruised to a 4-0 win. Shahriyar Moghanlou opened the scoring in the 24th minute before Mehdi Torabi converted a penalty in the 43rd minute. A minute into the second half, Issa Alekasir extended the lead and Kamal Kamyabinia wrapped up the win in the 58th minute.

Persepolis already have one foot in the next round, with 12 points from four games, and second-placed Al Wahda five points behind with two games left to play. For Goa, the defeat came as a reality check. The margin of defeat wasn’t helpful for the team’s morale either, admitted Ferrando after the game.

“This score is not good for our psychology. Firstly, it’s about the physical condition; the players are tired. When you lose 4-0 and you know this is the final week and you (still) have to play Al-Rayyan and Al Wahda, two very good teams, it’s very difficult. The problem is we have two days for the next game – 24th is for recovery, 25th is the day before the next game. This is the schedule and this is the same for every team. I have to try and change the mentality; there is no magic solution for the next game,” he told reporters.

Goa’s starting line-up in the four-goal loss revealed a few things about Indian football. The club’s 28-member squad has only seven players with over 1,000 minutes of playing time during the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) season. This includes all the four foreigners – Jorge Ortiz, Ivan Gonzalez, Edu Bedia (who didn’t play on Friday) and James Donachie – and three Indians – Saviour Gama, Seriton Fernandes and Alexander Romario. Saturday’s starting line-up featured only three of them – Gonzalez, Donachie and Romario.

A total of 1,000 minutes translates to just over 11 full matches of playing time. Two other players who had also played more than 1,000 minutes in the ISL – Igor Angulo and Alberto Noguera – had to be dropped from the squad due to the limit on the number of foreign players being four. While injuries at different periods of the season didn’t help, these numbers highlight two key things: the high level of reliance on foreign players and the short length of the Indian season.

Including play-offs in the Indian Super League (ISL), FC Goa played a total of 22 matches this season and their ISL campaign ended on March 8. Persepolis have played 20 league games prior to their Champions League games, and have yet to play a third of their league season. Before arriving in Goa, they had last played in the league on April 8. Persepolis also have additional games to play in the Hazfi Cup and Iranian Super Cup. Goa didn’t have a domestic cup competition to play in.

These domestic realities underline the already existing gulf between the two clubs. Playing against a team from far higher competitive environs and with much better match fitness, Goa would always have a mountain to climb.

Ferrando wasn’t unaware of these issues. After naming his Champions League squad, the Spaniard had highlighted the fact that most of his Indian players had needed more minutes before heading into a competition of this level. “It is a shame young Indian players have not had a proper adaptive process – that means: gaining more minutes of playing time match by match in the ISL, facing the best teams in the league and then compete on an international level. Instead, they will be facing the best teams in Asia straightaway,” he had told the club’s website.

“From a methodological and learning process point of view, this is not the best option, but there is nothing we can do about it.”

Not many expect FC Goa to go past the group stages. With only the group winners assured of knockout stage berths, and six of the 10 teams finishing second set to progress, Goa are unlikely to play more than their two remaining group games in the Asian Champions League this season. Two points from four games have showed that, with a good tactical set-up, Goa can fend off fancier opponents. With Qatar’s Al-Rayyan to play in their penultimate group game on Monday, Goa will hope their grit can make up for their lack of experience at this level. FC Goa’s last game in the group stage is against Al Wahda on April 29 and that means after six high intensity games in 16 days (April 14-29), they might not play for six months till the new Indian season begins.

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