Panaji: When Sandesh Jhingan joined FC Goa Last year, when he came out of Dabolim airport, he was surprised to see orange colour all around.
“Every car, every bike had an FC Goa badge. Every house I saw had an FC Goa flag; every jersey was an FC Goa one,” Jhingan recalls.
What India's star defender told supporters during a fan event in Bambolim last week may sound like a dream for any club anywhere in the world, but the first two years of the franchise's existence were something Goa had never seen in its nearly 150-year football history. There have been famous clubs, great achievements and happy moments, but none united Goans as much as this franchise did. Indian Super League (ISL)
That was in 2014, exactly 10 years ago, as Chief Minister manohar parrikar He launched the franchise, and even wore the club's jersey.
“Initially, there was no guarantee of a Goa franchise due to commercial reasons,” said Alberto Colaco, a former general secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) who was a consultant to the club in the early years. “Except Dempo, none of the top clubs were interested in the ISL. They were all against the new league.”
Dempo SC And Salgaocar FCApart from Churchill Brothers FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, which have a history of over 100 years, all of them were part of the I-League, which was the top tier at the time. Their opposition to the new league – called a poisoned chalice – is understandable.
However, Srinivas Dempo had a different vision. He saw the ISL as a business venture and pressured the AIFF (where he was vice-president) to include Goa as a franchise. The industrialist, who ran India's most successful football club with a big budget in recent times, approached another top Goa industrialist Dattaraj Salgaocar and after a meeting at Dempo House in Panaji, the two joined hands to give the ISL a try.
“When the bid documents were selected, we appointed two consultants for legal and financial matters. It was found that the financial expenses were too high. After this, both of them (Dempo and Salgaocar) decided to take another partner,” Colaco said.
Videocon's interest in football was being discussed at the time and Salgaocar immediately contacted the electronics giant's chairman Venugopal Dhoot. “The partnership was finalised within two hours. The three partners worked very closely,” Colaco said.
What is in a name?
The franchise was named Goan Dolphins FC in Goa's bid document.
The club argued that Goans and dolphins have a lot in common as they are “extremely social, fun-loving, altruistic, cultured and intelligent.” Through football, the club sought to create a brand image that embodied the essential qualities that Goans and dolphins are known and loved for.
The name and logo, however, did not connect well with the younger members of the owners. Vikram Salgaonkar, Dattaraj's son, explained that dolphins are gentle and they needed a more aggressive symbol. A quick Google search suggested the gaur as the state animal, and when its image was presented to the owners, it connected more than ever.
“For a suitable name, it was decided to campaign across the country. A contest was held and the club received 5,000 suggestions. Of them, Goa Gladiators was the most common; more than 100 fans suggested the name, but it had no connection with football,” Colaco said.
Then, a fan from South Goa suggested FC Goa. For those who grew up idolising FC Barcelona and FC Porto, the name was very special.
Forca Goa
The franchise had a lot of work to do before it could make its debut in the ISL. A celebrity partner was needed, which Videocon finalised pretty quickly, bringing on board Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan. With the company's contacts in the film industry, a mantra was also put in place, but Hindi music was not going to bind Goans to the club.
“One morning, (Goan music artist) Varun Carvalho and (composer) Piyush Soni, came to the office and asked for a chance to prove our worth,” Colaco said. Together they created a slogan that later became the official slogan and combined with the insights of two former footballers – Bento Andro and Mariano Souza – Força Goa was born.
the greatest of them all
Goa was performing well off the field, but the team's preparations were not complete yet. The club sought permission to include 14 players from Dempo in their domestic squad, but what about the coach? There was no coach even after foreign players were selected in the draft.
The first choice for Goa head coach was Steve Clarke, who has previously served as assistant to Ruud Gullit (Newcastle United), Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool). Dempo even met the manager in London, but the West Brom coach was simply buying time, possibly waiting for an offer from the Premier League.
Former Australia and South Korea coach Pim Verbeek was next on the list, but not everyone, especially the foreign technical advisors appointed by the club, agreed. Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler was approved by the league organisers as the marquee player, but Goa wanted him as the marquee player-cum-manager. The league refused.
Former Dempo Brazilian midfielder Roberto Silva (Beto) suggested that the Brazilian great Zico Nobody believed him at first. But when the formal email was sent and Zico himself confirmed his availability, Goa broke the bank to make the Brazilian superstar the biggest signing of the league.
“Adding Zico to the team was a sensational move for Indian football and it took the league to a different level,” Colaco said. “Once Zico joined us, we never looked back.”
After exiting in the semi-finals on penalties in the first season, Goa made it to the final on their home ground the following year and gave Goans a stronger feeling than ever. The franchise became a household name.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the people for the final match, the then Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar even considered declaring the next day a public holiday. A parade was also planned to celebrate. But Chennaiyin FC scored two goals in the last three minutes which brought tears to the eyes of the people in Fatorda.
Goan football has never been the same since then.