FC Bardez Goa: All You Need to Know

With the Pink Brigade competing for a spot in the new I-League season we bring you all you need to know about the newest club making waves in Goan football…

Club Name: Football Club de Bardez Goa Nick Name: The Pink Brigade Year Founded: 2016 Home Ground: Duler Football Stadium Owners: Robert Lemos (Chairman and co-Owner) and Savio Roy D’Souza (CEO and co-Owner) Manager: Armando Colaco Assistant Coach: Climax Lawrence Goalkeeping Coach: Chandrakant Naik League: Goa Professional League. Club History FC Bardez Goa is a professional football club based in Goa and was founded on 5th of March 2016. It was officially launched on the 24th of June 2016, in front of a large number of Bardez fans. There are many clubs representing local villages, but FCBG represents the entire Bardez taluka. The main aim of the club is to become the best in the country and to have a very constructive relationship between the fans and the club. In their inaugural competitive tournament, they won the Goa Police Cup. While they currently stand second in the Goa Professional League. The Coaching Staff Armando Colaco (Manager): The coach, who led Dempo SC to success and won five national titles with them, is in-charge of the newly-formed North Goa club. Colaco, who has also coached the national side is trying to instill his own style on the team and will be looking to repeat history with FC Bardez. Climax Lawrence (Assistant Coach): Though Lawrence is new to coaching, the midfielder is very well known in Indian football. The Former Dempo player was also the captain of the national side. At the new club with new responsibilities, he is already following in the footsteps of head coach Colaco. He is also the head coach of the club’s U-20 side which currently stands 4th in the U-20 TACA Goa League. Chandrakant Naik (Goalkeeping Coach): The former Dempo custodian is also a legend in Indian football. He holds the record of playing for 29 years in the GPL. The keeper has also represented the national team. With new challenges at a new club, the coach has already proved his worth as keeper Mirshad Koottappunna kept clean sheets throughout the Goa Police Cup. Squad Analysis The North Goa club have already signed star players from around the country, while they have also bought the services of Nigerian strikers Koko Sakibo and Joel Sunday. Here are their top three domestic signings.... Peter Carvalho: The former Dempo midfielder has won many major trophies with them. He was also signed by FC Goa in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League, while in the second season the midfielder wore yellow with Kerala Blasters. He is playing a key role in the heart of Bardez’s midfield and has performed superbly. The midfielder is presently wearing the armband at the club and will lead the team in the I-League. Rowilson Rodrigues: The defender started his career with Churchill Brothers, but at an early age he was part of the SESA Football Academy. Later he moved to Dempo where he spent two seasons and moved to Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan. After spending a year in Kolkata, the defender was again signed by the Golden Eagles. He has also played for FC Goa and Mumbai City FC in ISL Season 1 and 2 respectively. He has also represented the country’s U-23 side seven times and the senior team once. The defender has already shown his worth in the Goa Pro League and will be playing an instrumental role for the Pink Brigade in the country’s top tier. Alesh Sawant: The U-22 midfielder is one of the star players in the team. He is comfortable on both wings, thus making it easy for a coach to switch him as per need. The left-footed midfielder is lethal from dead balls and has shown his caliber in the semi-final of the Goa Police Cup, where his curling free-kick made the difference in the match. Though he’s only 5.6”, he is very good in the air and can surprise opponents with his efforts at the same. Young talents like Girish Naik, Lenstan Afonso, Anil Chawan, Kirtikesh Gadekar and Latesh Mandrekar are also giving their best and performing excellently in their respective positions. The Squad Goalkeepers: Santosh Pujar, Mirshad Koottappunna, Bilal Khan, Augustine D’Mello. Defenders: Mathew Gonsalves, Rowilson Rodrigues , Jessel Carneiro, Girish Naik, Lenstan Afonso, Jyotesh Palkar, Micheal Silva, Anil Chawan, Midfielders: Peter Carvalho (c), Alesh Sawant, Richard Costa, Jesmon Soares, Ashley Cardozo, Sarineo Fernandes, Saviour Gama Forwards: Shubhan Rao Dessai, Joy Ferrao, Kirtikesh K Gadekar, Latesh Mandrekar, Myron Mendes , Cavin Soares, Franky Olivero, Chatur Naik, Koko Sakibu Atanda (F), Yinka Joel Sunday Ayeni(F), The Owners The club is a product of Lemos Sports Concept Pvt. Ltd. and is owned by Savio Roy D’Souza and Robert Lemos. D’Souza is an AFC C Licence coach. He is also a well-established Master of Ceremonies in Goa, while, he is also managing St. Sabastian Football Club (amateur club) which plays in the third tier of the regional league pyramid. Lemos is a retired banker. His love for football brought them together to form a new club in the state. Style of Play The head coach Colaco is a man who loves to play possession football. The coach is famous for his “Tiki-Taka” (short passing) style and the team is already dominating their opponents in the GPL with this style of play. While, the world likes to experiment with different formations the North Goa club is comfortable playing the old school 4-4-2, which is the manager’s favourite. The Kit FC Bardez wear a pink jersey with navy blue shorts as their home kit. The Pink colour represents freshness, sporting behaviour and coolness. The navy blue border is a sign of grace, whereas blue is an integral part of the club. Initially, the pink jersey was introduced as an away kit but they won their first title in pink, which made them choose pink as the home kit while the all blue kit is now used in away matches. The Stadium Duler Football Stadium is a Goa Football Association (GFA) owned stadium located in the outskirts of Mapusa city. It has an AstroTurf surface and its two stands can easily accommodate 8000 fans. It has also been used by other Goan clubs like Dempo and Sporting Clube de Goa as a home stadium in the previous seasons of the I-League. Grassroots Development The North Goa club participates in the GFA U-20 TACA Goa League, where the club has chosen to field all the local players. Although. the club does not have an active grassroots program at the moment the owners have promised to start one in the near future as they have already identified many schools in North and South Goa for the program . Behind the scenes There is real drive for the growth of football in India and right now the I-League is the top league of the country. We want to be a key part of this phase of rapid growth in the sport and make the best use of the resources available, So, we have applied to be part of next year’s league as one of the direct-entry corporate teams,” said CEO and co-owner D’Souza. Road to the I-League The All-India Football Federation, the governing body of the sport in the country had recently invited bids for new direct-entry corporate teams as part of its restructuring of the top flight. FC Bardez are one of three teams competing for those slots. How they will fare Looking at the present form of the club in the Goa Pro League, they look completely ready for the I-League. But the addition of two more foreigners in the team, especially in the defence and the midfield as well as two-three other talented domestic players in the team could put them in the title race of the nation’s top tier league. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]