ISL feature: The wait is over! FC Goa fans ready to paint Fatorda Fortress orange!

Memorable
moments

His
friend,
Afton
da
Costa,
recollected
his
matchday
routine
from
over
two
years
ago,
when
fans
were
last
allowed
to
watch
an
ISL
game
from
the
stands.

“Whenever
my
team
was
playing
at
Fatorda,
I
used
to
leave
early
from
home
to
the
stadium
so
that
I
wouldn’t
get
stuck
in
rush-hour
traffic.
On
the
way,
I
would
join
other
fans
in
their
celebrations,
waving
flags
and
singing
songs.
Almost
always,
I
would
arrive
at
the
stadium
even
before
the
gates
could
officially
be
opened
and
hence,
I
would
participate
in
different
games
and
activities
that
were
held
outside.”

Fortress
Fatorda

Come
Thursday,
it
would
be
972
days
since
FC
Goa
last
played
a
match
in
front
of
fans
at
Fatorda.

Fans
have
bittersweet
memories
of
that
clash
–
although
the
Gaurs
won
4-2
over
Chennaiyin
FC
in
what
was
the
second
leg
of
the
semifinals,
the
Marina
Machans
advanced
to
the
final
on
aggregate,
having
won
the
first
leg
4-1.

“A
lot
of
things
have
changed
since
then,”
reflected
Shery
Joseph,
another
fan
of
the
Club,
and
rightly
so.
For
starters,
Carlos
Pena,
who
played
for
FC
Goa
at
the
time,
is
now
the
club’s
head
coach.

Promising
players

“I
was
always
awed
by
the
trio
of
Edu
Bedia,
Hugo
Boumous
and
Ferran
Corominas.
The
last
time
I
was
at
Fatorda,
they
ran
riot
against
opposition
teams.
Sadly
now,
only
Edu
remains.”

“FC
Goa
has
never
been
a
team
that
dwells
on
its
weaknesses.
They
first
replaced
Coro
with
Igor
Angulo,
who
finished
the
2020-21
season
as
top-scorer.
Among
their
current
set
of
players,
Alvaro
Vazquez,
Iker
Guarrotxena
and
Noah
Sadaoui
all
look
promising,”
he
further
explained.

Fine
start

And
this
aspect
is
what
excites
Nikitha
Fernandes,
as
she
looks
forward
to
greeting
her
favourite
team
at
the
Fatorda
Fortress
on
Thursday.

“It’s
to
be
noted
they
played
only
away
games
so
far
and
still
did
quite
well,
just
imagine
how
well
they
would
perform
with
us
painting
our
Fortress
in
orange!”
she
hoped.