We believe we now have a very competitive squad, affirms Ravi Puskur

The Gaurs' Director of Football spoke to Khel Now in an exclusive interaction.

FC Goa are currently undergoing a phase of transformation. Leading the charge is Director of Football Ravi Puskur. Puskur is also the Vice President (Strategy) of the Gaurs and looks after each and every recruitment decision, indirectly affecting gameplay on the pitch.

FC Goa have been perhaps the most eye-catching side since their inception into the Indian Super League way back in 2014. They lifted the inaugural ISL League Winners’ Shield back in 2019-20, but are yet to get their hands on the coveted trophy.

Recently, the club hired Manolo Marquez as their head coach. Khel Now caught up with Ravi Puskur to dig deep about the hiring and other moves that the club has been making to become champions. Excerpts follow.

The decision behind hiring Manolo

Manolo Marquez had eight offers on the table, with some of them coming during the 2022-23 season itself. Given the footballing philosophy at Goa and the way in which Manolo thinks about the sport, it was inevitable that he would say yes to the Gaurs.

Ravi Puskur stated, “I’d like to believe that our approach was a simple and honest one. We focused on transparency and I’d like to believe that those were the things he appreciated. We told the coach where we felt he could add to our project and how his thought process fitted in with what the club has been doing over the years. It was not just one discussion that did the trick, nor was there some magic number that allowed us to close the deal.”

He added, “It wasn’t only about getting to know as much about each other as a coach and a football club but also the individuals that encompass it and finding common synergies. There are a lot of things that go into the decision making process and a lot of the time, the circumstances that one finds themselves in also play a big part.”

Speaking on the rejuvenation which FC Goa are planning under the ISL winning gaffer, Puskur mentioned, “A coach is, sometimes, a better fit in a given circumstance as the club finds itself at a certain juncture and sometimes, it might require a different kind of a coach. In this case, we felt that Manolo fitted the role to perfection because the club needed a certain amount of rejuvenation and he’s demonstrated that first hand with Hyderabad FC where he took them from strength to strength over his three years at the club.”

When did Manolo say yes?

Numerous discussions took place to bring Manolo Marquez to FC Goa - an occurrence that happens throughout the world in all football communities. But was there a moment when Manolo stood up in the meeting, banged the table and said ‘Yes, I’m coming to Goa’?

Ravi Puskur said, “It took us multiple discussions to get to the point of having Manolo as our coach. There wasn’t a “yes” moment as such as I recall it. It was a collective set of discussions that led to an inevitable feeling that he would become our coach and each of these discussions were long and detailed. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaz7g92DNVQ

“We had the benefit of knowing the coach previously through his time in India and the same applied for the coach as well and he was well versed with what the club was all about, so that definitely made the conversations easier. 

“There was no definite moment as such when he said yes, but when we did inform the larger working group within the club that he was being appointed, there definitely were some stand out moments there as he’s a coach who has earned and garnered substantial amount of respect and affection from the Indian footballing community and now those who admired his work now had a chance to work with him,” Ravi impressioned.

Manolo was previously linked, but didn’t join

Sources close to Khel Now tell us that Manolo Marquez was under the FC Goa radar since last season. However, they brought in former defender Carlos Pena at the helm, meanwhile Manolo continued his stint with Hyderabad.

Revealing as to why Manolo didn’t join earlier, Puskur averred, “Manolo is a coach with serious pedigree and when he’s available, it’s only logical to explore that option. We explored the possibility last year too but he had another year to run on his contract at HFC and despite some interest from both sides, we weren’t able to bring it to fruition. 

“This time around, the coach didn’t have an existing contract and therefore it allowed us to speak more liberally and bring to conclusion the discussions we had engaged in once the ISL season finished,” he added.

Letting go of Carlos Pena – a club favourite

Carlos Pena won the ISL Shield at Goa in 2020. He returned last season when the club chose him to lead the side into the ISL. How difficult was it for the management to part ways with a former mate?

“It was obviously an extremely tough decision. We have a lot of respect for Carlos and his backroom staff for the work they did here last season and we will remember them with extreme affection and fondness and they will always have a place at the club,” the Director of Football mentioned.

“They were thorough professionals from day one at the club until their last and they did everything within their power to ensure the first team put up a good showing. Unfortunately, our results tailed off in the second half of the season and Manolo’s availability made us take the decision we did, but it was definitely not something that was easy to do due to the deep respect we have for Carlos,” he added.

Changes in the team – rather an overhaul

A few days back, FC Goa parted ways with seven first-team footballers. Even the likes of Edu Bedia and Alvaro Vazquez have followed suit. Will this affect the Gaurs this year?

Ravi Puskur has a different belief. “Players and coaches come and go and that’s a natural cycle in football. Our situation is no different. We’ve had two disappointing years and perhaps we needed a shake up in the playing squad to extract different results from the team. 

“We’ve tried to identify areas within the team where we felt we needed reinforcements and we’ve tried to solve those problems. We believe we now have a very competitive squad and there will be plenty of competition for places within the squad.

“With regards to our targets for next season, it’s quite evident that we want to be successful. But the season is long and hard and we now need to place an emphasis on getting our processes right and take care of the little details that when added up can make a big difference and see where that takes us come the end of the season,” he concluded.