FC Goa gear up to make AFC Champions League debut

FC Goa will enter what are uncharted waters as far as Indian football is concerned when they make their AFC Champions League debut in a group stage clash against Qatari side Al-Rayyan SC at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao on Wednesday night.

No Indian club has ever made it to the group stages of the continent’s most prestigious club competition. Goa earned the right to play here courtesy their 2019-20 Indian Super League (ISL) triumph, and the Champions League being expanded from 32 to 40 teams this year opened up a direct berth for India for the first time.

The Juan Ferrando-coached side though will have its task cut out with all three teams in the group—Iran’s Persepolis and UAE’s Al-Wahda are the other two—having far more experience at this level and possessing much stronger teams on paper.

Wednesday’s opponents Al-Rayyan, who are playing in the Champions League for the 10th time, boast of a strong line-up that includes former Porto winger Yacine Brahimi, Ivorian forward Yohan Boli and midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem, who was one of the stars in Qatar’s triumphant 2019 Asian Cup campaign. Former Sevilla defender Gabriel Mercado is out with injury.

Coached by former France defender and manager, Laurent Blanc, the club had finished third in the 2020-21 season of the Qatar Stars League (QSL). They are aiming to make it past the group stages for the first time and can ill-afford to drop points against Goa, considering the strength of the other two teams in Group E.

Ferrando’s side, on the other hand, will be keen to avoid becoming the group’s punching bag despite the underdog status. The Spaniard had sprung a surprise when he chose to leave out key attackers Igor Angulo and Albert Noguera from his 28-member squad for the competition, with the cap on foreign players placed at four.

Angulo was the joint top-scorer in ISL last season while Noguera had the joint-highest assists. Their absence indicates Ferrando’s intention to focus on the other areas in the squad, given the attacking firepower Goa’s three group opponents possess.

“We want to be competitive and strong—in terms of our mentality and psychology. However, in the end, the most important thing when you play football is to enjoy. This is the most important word in our team. If the players enjoy on the pitch, we can get success,” Ferrando told reporters in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.

“It is a time to learn but also to be competitive at the same time. For me, it is very important that everybody has a very clear mind that these games are great opportunities to make a mark for both the club and Indian football,” he added.

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