Opinion: Why Alvaro Vazquez is the ideal FC Goa striker

The Spanish forward scored eight goals in 23 appearances in ISL 2021/22.

In April, the news broke of Alvaro Vazquez joining FC Goa. In June, the club made the official announcement. Last season was a forgetful one for the Gaurs. The team seemed over-reliant on Jorge Ortiz for goals and Airam Cabrera didn’t turn out to be the perfect replacement for Igor Angulo.

Since Ferran Corominas’ arrival, FC Goa never disappointed Indian football apart from the previous season, when Airam Cabrera netted only six goals. That too, three of them came in their last encounter against Kerala Blasters. They suffered upfront throughout the campaign. Even after a 5-0 win over Chennaiyin FC, head coach Derrick Pereira wasn’t hesitant to opine that his side needed to be more clinical upfront.

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Alvaro Vazquez hasn’t yet taken the pitch for the Gaurs. But somewhere there is a feeling that he may be the ideal striker the Goan outfit demands. Here are some reasons why.

Fits into FC Goa’s philosophy

Alvaro Vazquez is the perfect fit for FC Goa’s philosophy. FC Goa are the first Indian Super League side to implement a particular philosophy. The outfit enjoys playing possession-based attacking football. Even the developmental team is trained accordingly to be accustomed with the same. This style of play sometimes demands the striker to move towards the wing or drop deep. Vazquez has the ability to do that.

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In modern football, fitting into the philosophy is important. Examples around the world, like Jack Grealish, shed light on the reason. If the Gaurs would have signed someone who didn’t fit into the philosophy, it would have been a no-return investment from the management.

The goal-getter

Along with Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Alvaro Vazquez ended the league as Kerala Blasters’ top goalscorer with eight goals to his name. A similar number of goals were scored by his predecessor at FC Goa, Jorge Ortiz. Likewise, former FC Goa striker Igor Angulo, who was playing for Mumbai City netted just two more than Vazquez.

Although Vazquez’s on-field operations aren’t similar to those of Angulo or Bartholomew Ogbeche and the 31-year-old covers a lot of ground, he is no less adept in scoring.

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It would be ruthless to say that FC Goa need a scorer. If we look at their squad, as of now, Vazquez and Iker Guarrotxena are the only goal-getters. Rumours claim Guarrotxena to be Alberto Noguera’s replacement. We are yet to witness Ortiz’s replacement.

Devendra Murgaonkar needs more time to turn into a consistent scorer. Thus, at this point, Vazquez will be the person from whom Carlos Pena will expect goals. And he knows how to score!

Suitor to carry forward the legacy

As mentioned earlier, FC Goa have the reputation of signing the best strikers. In the past four seasons, two of their strikers have won the Golden Boot – Coro and Angulo. As per claims, FC Goa seemed pretty desperate to sign Vazquez. The Spaniard on the other hand, didn’t continue at Kerala Blasters due to financial reasons. Thus, FC Goa had to invest a high amount to secure Vazquez’s services.

If you are not aware, FC Goa have one of the best scouting teams in the country. The scouts surely saw some potential in him. Else, they wouldn’t have been desperate to acquire his services. Thus, he will be looked upon as the successor of Coro and Angulo.

The same expectations were implied on Cabrera but the forward was a new face in India. At times, it happens that new arrivals don’t click. But Vazquez is a tested candidate. Thus, the recruiters had the faith to engulf Alvaro Vazquez around the wall of expectations.

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