: Football remains the “beautiful game” for chief coach Zico, looking back at his team, FC Goa, losing the second-leg semifinal on penalty-kicks 2-4 in the Indian Super League. “It is a beautiful game, it is an emotional game,” said the Brazilian great, as the pain of defeat slowly sunk in.
He also expressed a desire to resume his coaching career with the Goa franchise next season. FCG exiting from the ISL’s first edition, just one match away from the final, will hurt the Brazilian. “Penalties are part of the game. We trained for it during the week, but it did not happen that way in the match. I wanted to give a gift to the people of Goa for their support to the team, we could not. Life goes on.”
Touching on the emotional aspect, he said: “Football touches our hearts. I am upset not at the result, but at the way it happened,” said the FCG coach, referring to the incident when match-referee Ravshan Irmatsov appeared to have overlooked a tackle on Andre Santos after the Brazilian striker, later named ‘best player’, fell in the goalmouth just as he was shaping up for a crack at the target.
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Later in the shootouts, the Brazilian striker — recruited on Zico’s recommendation — took the first penalty kick and watched in shock as the ball looped over the crossbar. FCG felt a second blow when Haroon Amiri’s shot resulted in the ball striking the underside of the horizontal and bounce back.
Zico had been involved in tie-breaker situations as player and read the signals.
Zico will head for home for relaxation, before making up his mind about the offer from the FC Goa owners to return next year. “The owners expressed a desire that I return to take charge. I have the desire to come back,” said the most high-profile coach among the teams involved in ISL 2014.
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Zico joined the team after players had been picked in the draft and went on to mould the group into a fighting unit.
Zico looked back at the four-month stint in a positive way. “I am grateful to the people for the affection given to me, not only in Goa but wherever in India I travelled. It was an absolute pleasure coaching FC Goa. The players were professional, not only foreigners but also the Indians in the team.”
He kept emotions in check in nerve-wracking moments at the Nehru stadium, occasionally urging the crowd to raise noise levels on seeing his exhausted players going through the motions towards end of regulation time and right through extra-time.
Dignified in defeat, the FCG coach wished counterpart Antonio Habas a speedy recovery. “As I mentioned, the emotion in football can take a lot out of you. People have lost their lives (Colombia defender Andres Escobar).
“The Kolkata coach showed some discomfort. I hope he is okay and recovers in time for the next match,” said Zico, posing with fans for treasured pictures.
During his playing days, Zico left teammates and fans ecstatic with his daring moves and clever goals, creating the beautiful game. As chief coach at FCG, he tried to instil the same passion in the players in a short span of three months.
The Brazilian’s biggest regret is not giving Goans the gift of victory.
He promised to come back and complete the unfinished work.