ISL 2016: FC Goa unveil 24-man squad for third season, retain Lucio as marquee player

Panaji: FC Goa on Friday unveiled their 24-man squad at the training facility in Nagoa to a rousing welcome from fans and well wishers ahead of the opening match of the Hero Indian Super League 2016. There were huge cheers from the fans as each player’s name was called out. Fan favourites Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Rao Dessai, Gregory Arnolin and Rafael Coelho walked onto the ground to huge cheers. [caption id=“attachment_3029086” align=“alignleft” width=“381”]  FC Goa players along with Head coach Zico at the squard launch in Goa. PR[/caption] Marquee player Lucio who was retained for the second season expressed his delight at being able to come back for another year. Said Lucio, “I am very happy to come back to a place like Goa where people are passionate about the sport.” With the Gaurs narrowly missing out on the title last year, the former Internazionale defender said he expects the side to try even harder this year. “We will try hard to win the title this year. Last year we were close. As a squad, we are trying hard in training to become better players. We want to bring joy to our fans and to the state of Goa,” he explained. The club also unveiled the new kit design for the third season of the ISL. After sportswear giants Umbro were confirmed as the kit manufacturer, the club also unveiled Deltin Hotels as the principal kit sponsor for the third season. FC Goa kick off their season with an away trip to Guwahati where they will face NorthEast United FC on 4th October 2016 before returning to Goa for their first home game against FC Pune City on 8th October 2016. Squad: Lucimar Da Silva Ferreira (Lucio), Joffre Mateu Gonzalez, Subhasish Roy , Reinaldo Da Cruz Oliveira, Fulganco Cardozo, Gregory Arnolin, Robin Singh, Rafael Coelho, Luciano Sobrosa, Keenan Almeida, Pratesh Shirodkar, Denzil Franco Sukhadev Patil, Raju Gaekwad, Debabrata Roy, Laxmikant Kattimani, Mandar Rao Dessai, Romeo Fernandes, Richarlyson Barbosa, Rafael Dumas, Trindade Goncalves, Sahil Tavora, Sanjay Balmuchu, Julio Cesar.