Panaji: Twelve Indian players of FC Goa team on Tuesday left for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to train at head coach Zico's football academy, Zico 10, and prepare for the third season of the Indian Super League (ISL).
While the Indian players of the FC Goa squad departed from Dabolim International Airport in the afternoon, the international players of the franchise will join them in Brazil.
Fulganco Cardozo, who has been selected for the national team's encounter against Puerto Rico, will join the rest of the squad in Rio de Janeiro at a later date.
Sanjay Balmuchu and Raju Gaikwad will also join the team later due to commitments with their parent club.
Head coach Zico's idea behind taking FC Goa to his home country is to expose them against some tough opponents, which would give them the much needed practice to play against teams in the ISL.
"Our pre-season will be here in Rio where we are playing friendly matches against some strong teams. This will immensely benefit our Indian and foreign players. Our thinking is that if our pre-season this year is as good as it was last year, the chances of success will increase significantly. So, for me, our pre-season in Brazil will be a trump card for us," said Zico.
Mandar Rao Dessai, who recently travelled to Villareal CF in Spain for a two-week training stint, has expressed the need for quality training facilities.
"Football in India and abroad is completely different.
I'm sure that in Brazil, we will have better training facilities and we will get to play against strong teams. This will help us develop our skills and it will help the team understand each other before the ISL starts," he explained.
FC Goa will have a run of pre-season games against local opposition before returning to Goa on September 24 ahead of the start of the new season on October 1.
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