ISL 2015: Top 5 FC Goa players to watch out for

FC Goa were semi-finalists in the last ISL season and the team from Goa will be looking to go one step further this season. Head Coach Zico has personally handpicked the squad this year and will be hoping that his team goes all the way and wins the title this year. The players on their part will be under tremendous pressure from the legion of fans to play attractive football and perform well.The club unveiled their team in front of the fans on the 24 September at Tilak Maidan, Vasco, and will be playing their first match of the season at home on 4 October. As we build up towards the start of the sporting spectacle, we take a look at 5 of the most influential players in the FC Goa squad.

#1 Lucio

Lucio (C) was a player FC Goa manager Zico (L) wanted at any cost

Lucio was head coach Zico’s prime target and had made it clear to the owners well in advance that he would require his services at any cost. The towering Brazilian centre-back will be the mainstay at the heart of FC Goa's defence along with Gregory Arnolin.

He is a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002 in addition to winning many laurels at the club level including the champions League with Inter Milan in 2010. He began his professional career at Internacional in 1998 and later moved to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. Lucio has represented some of Europe's top clubs which include Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and comes with a lot of experience behind him. He has also represented his country Brazil on 105 occasions and has scored 4 goals for his country.

Lucio will have to play the role of a leader at FC Goa considering his vast experience and the younger players will look to him for guidance. He will most probably start all the games for FC Goa and will drive the team forward from the back. At 6’2”, Lucio's aerial prowess will be important for Goa in defence as well as in attack during set piece situations.

#2 Leo Moura

Leo Moura was among the late signings at FC Goa but he certainly will be one of the driving forces in this team. He is another of Zico’s signings with a lot of experience behind him, largely playing in the Brazilian top division. He is famous for being one of the few players who has represented all four of the big Rio de Janeiro clubs – Botafogo, Vasco, Fluminense and Flamengo.

Moura began his professional career at Botafogo in 1998 and moved to many clubs in the early 2000's before settling down at Flamengo, a team which he went on to captain. He enjoyed a long and successful stint as the captain until 2011 when Ronaldinho Gaucho joined Flamengo and took over the captaincy. Moura has a big fan following at Flamengo and was one of their most loved players at the club. During his stay at Flamengo, he was called up for the Brazilian national team to play a friendly but thereafter he did not play any matches for Brazil.

He started his career as a midfielder and then adopted the role of right back at some of the clubs he played at. He will be one of the definite starters at FC Goa and is expected to play in midfield alongside Jofre Gonsalvez. He is a skilled passer and dribbler and will be required to play a major role if FC Goa are to reach the knockout stage.

#3 Jofre Mateu Gonzalez

Jofre was picked up from last year's ISL Champions Atletico de Kolkata after he produced some stellar performance for the team from West Bengal. He is one of the few foreigners in the FC Goa squad who have previous experience of playing in India and that will prove to be very important aspect, at least in the initial stages of the league.

He is a product of the Barcelona youth system and has gone on to play for some big clubs in Spain. He made his professional debut in 1998 for Barcelona B team and later moved on to teams like Levante, Espanyol, Valladolid and Girona.

As expected, Jofre is most likely to partner Leo Moura at the heart of the FC Goa midfield but can also be used on the left if required.

#4 Romeo Fernandes

Romeo Fernandes rose to stardom following his stellar performance for FC Goa in last season's ISL. Prior to the ISL last year, he was a regular starter of Dempo SC but never really caught the imagination of the fans. Romeo is now a fan favourite among the FC Goa fans and is highly rated by head coach Zico.

Upon the insistence of Zico, Fernandes went for a short stint at Brazilian club Atletico Paranaense – thus becoming the only Indian to play for Brazilian club. He is a product of the Dempo youth system and played for all their age group teams before making his senior professional debut for them in 2011. After good performances for the youth team in the I-League, Romeo was called up to the India U-22 team for the 2013 AFC U-22 Qualifiers in Oman where he performed reasonably well.

He is expected to start for FC Goa on the right side of the midfield and will be expected to support the lone striker in attack, considering Zico’s 4-1-4-1 playing formation. The main advantage that Romeo has is that he is still young and has raw pace which can trouble most of the defences in ISL.

#5 Narayan Das

Coming from a modest family in Jharkhand, Narayan Das plies his trade in the I-League with Dempo SC at the left-back position. Having said this, the surroundings will be familiar for Das when it comes to taking up the responsibility of representing FC Goa in a similar capacity.

But prior to joining Dempo SC in October 2013, the TFA product started his career with Pailan Arrows in 2012. On the international stage, Das played for the India U-19 side, followed by the U-22 side in the AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers in 2013. He then got a national team call-up and made his debut against Nepal in November 2013.

Das played an important role in FC Goa's march to the semi-finals. Head Coach Zico will be expecting the same type of performances from him this season. As expected, he will be crucial member of the defence alongside Lucio, Gregory and Debo in the starting XI.