Zico is inspiring: Armando Colaco

And yet, every single time he sees the legendary Zico, Brazilian coach and former footballer training the players of FC Goa, he still feels that he has a lot to learn.

Sharing his thoughts on the legendary player, Colaco who presently coaches East Bengal said, “One can see a lot of eagerness and excitement in the way Zico trains and monitors the practice sessions. He does not put pressure on anybody; he makes the training sessions enjoyable. He has been all over the world and is now here to train FC Goa, so there is eagerness in the players in wanting to learn from him. Even I have learned many things as well only by watching him.”

FC Goa is one of the eight teams to compete in the 2014 Hero Indian Super League (ISL) which got underway at Kolkata on Oct 12. The team has recently signed exciting players like Arsenal stars Robert Pires and Andre Santos and I-league champ Ranti Martins.

Excited about the line-up, Colaco said, “When foreign players come and play with our local players, there is a tendency for improvement. We have to be patient and hope that everything works out well. I’m sure that there will be positive changes in football in near future.”

Speaking about Robert Pires, he said, “Pires’ humility is very inspiring. He does not travel in a trailer nor does he have a special arrangement for himself. For the match against Sesa FA, when Romeo Fernandes crossed, he said ‘well done’ and hugged him. So, that means that he wants to see Indian players come up. He’s a legend and has won the World Cup for France and represented Arsenal, yet he’s still the same old player.”

Coloaco is highly optimistic about the entire ISL initiative.

“ISL may prove to be that stepping stone for football to go ahead. In order to reach somewhere, you need to start somewhere. I am sure that there will be positive changes," he said.