Looking back at how FC Goa won the 2019 Hero Super Cup

The Gaurs earnt their first piece of silverware with a memorable road to glory.

The 2023 Super Cup qualifiers have begun. The 16 best Indian clubs will fight it out in Kerala for the coveted cup title. This will mark the first time that the Super Cup takes place in the post-pandemic era.

11 ISL teams have already qualified for the tournament along with reigning I-League champions RoundGlass Punjab FC. The remaining four teams will be decided by qualifying games held between eight I-League teams, with the winners of those games making it to the group stages.

This time, the format of the Super Cup has been altered. The main competition won't begin with the Round of 16 stages. There will be four groups of four teams, with the winners of those groups moving into the semi-finals. The winners of those will then get to fight it out in the final at the EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode.

Unlike the last editions, there is added incentive in the Super Cup this year. The winners of the 2023 edition will have a chance to fight it out in the qualifiers of the AFC Cup next year. This has been added to ensure that teams field their strongest squads and not treat it as a post-season tournament, where the majority of sides in the past play their reserve players.

The Super Cup was previously held in 2019 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. All the Indian Super League (ISL) teams automatically qualified for it and six teams from the I-League also made it, resulting in a thrilling competition.

FC Goa: Super Cup 2019 champions

FC Goa reigned supreme in the 2019 edition to continue the ISL sides’ domination in the competition. The Gaurs made a statement of intent early on in the Round of 16 stages itself, picking up a huge 3-0 win over Indian Arrows.

They’d go on to produce a clinical display in the quarter-final clash against fellow ISL side Jamshedpur FC. After a lot of back and forth, the Gaurs reigned supreme with a narrow 4-3 win in an absolute thriller – setting up a game against I-League giants Chennai City FC in the semi-finals.

However, Goa eased past them with a comfortable 3-0 win to set up a clash against Chennaiyin FC in the final. Despite being troubled by a hard-working Chennaiyin side, the Guars picked up a hard-fought 2-1 win to lift the first major silverware in their history.

Ferran Corominas played an inspired role in guiding them to the title, ending the tournament as top scorer with 5 goals – including three in the semi-finals and final. Brandon Fernandes also helped them run riot with three goals. Goa goalkeeper Mohammed Nawaz kept two clean sheets and made a number of key saves, even winning the Man of the Match award in the final.

Since Goa’s success, nobody has been able to win the Super Cup – because it has not been played in the post-Covid-19 era yet. 2020, 2021, and 2022 editions were all cancelled due to Covid-19 issues and players being at risk of picking up injuries.

But now the best 16 teams of India will battle it out in Kerala to lift the trophy and uplift their chances of playing in continental competition next year.