Igor Angulo, born in Spain, has played all his life only in Europe. In about a month?s time, he will embark on a journey of about 15-16 hours to a completely new continent and play in a league, the format of which is also altogether different. Angulo has played in Spain, France, Cyprus, Greece and Poland and now he makes his first foray in Asian football with FC Goa.
Angulo is not anxious about the change. He feels at 36 years of age, he has played in ?many countries, many different conditions? to be able to make the adjustments. He cites his time in Cyprus and Greece when he talks about a hot weather but admits that the humidity expected in India might take him some time to get used to.
?May be the weather (I?m going to take time to adjust to) because I have never played in Asia. Especially the humidity is going to be high for me. Here also in Europe, I have played in Greece and Cyprus, where it is hot in summer, may be hotter than India. But it?s true that the humidity is not like this. I think I will have to adjust to it but I think we have two months of pre-season so that is time enough to get used to it. Rest, it?s going to be the same,? Angulo said in an exclusive conversation with News18.com.
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He says he has only heard good things about India. He named Javier Hernandez (ATK Mohun Bagan FC), Carlos Pena (former FC Goa) and Kibu Vicuna (head coach, formerly Mohun Bagan and currently Kerala Blasters), among the ones he spoke to in order to know about the country he was thinking of playing in.
When he got Goa?s offer, he got in touch with his Spanish connections in India, and ?got very good feedback about the country, about the club and the fans.? He said Javier not only praised ATK Mohun Bagan but also Goa and its fans. Pena, who he knows from their time together at the Spanish national youth team, was all praise for the club and the ISL. And Vicuna?s feedback was so good that he decided his wife and daughter would relocate with him.
?His (Vicuna) feedback was amazing. He told me I had to play at least once in my career in India,? Angulo shared.
SAFE DURING CORONAVIRUS?
Angulo admitted that the coronavirus situation did play on his mind a bit when he was making his decision to sign for Goa. He said considering the size of the country, it was normal for these many people to get infected. But he was confident of the league?s capability to safeguard him and all the others involved.
?I think ISL is going to take care of us, of everyone and I think we are going to be safe. It is a pity that we are going to have to play in empty stadiums but I knew that when I signed the contract and it is the only good way to do it. It?s so risky to play with the stadium full. All the clubs are going to be in the same situation so we can?t complain and give any excuse and we have to keep going and keep fighting to win,? he said.
Angulo hopes to travel to India in the next two to three weeks to be ready when the pre-season starts and was confident he and his family would be safe. ?They are my family, especially my daughter is just 11 months old and I will not travel anywhere without her. Of course, we are going to be safe there, in the hotel and so, I think we are going to be good. I can?t even think of travelling without them.?
FC Goa?s Director of Football, Ravi Puskur, was sure that the club and the ISL officials were capable of creating a secure environment for the league to be played. He admitted it was tough because it was a very new situation for everyone involved but was confident of the club?s team that is handling the process.
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Puskur said they are yet to received the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) from the league but added it was just about putting the rules in place and soon enough it will become a part of the routine.
?Initially, there will be a bit of a struggle because there is some amount of freedom and movement you are used to but then adjusting to what they were used to to what is expected of them for the next one season is the key. Once the players understand the entire process and get set in the system, I think they will be pretty good. It?s about making the players understand what the routine is and I think we should be okay,? he told News18.com.
He said all the players sign a ?comprehensive 30-page contract? and there were going to be certain rules to follow. He said when everyone arrives for the pre-season, the coaches, the club officials and the players will be having a discussion to explain to the players the reasons for the protocols.
?We will also explain the consequences at that point of time ? may be something we discuss internally or we can take their feedback that going by the severity of the thing, ?you say what should be the consequences?. That?s the discussion for the coaches, the club and the players to have and I am sure, it will be pretty defined in terms of consequences,? he said.
Empty stadiums may not be a completely new feature in Indian football but for someone like Angulo, who comes from a continent that has a rich football culture, it is going to be a strange experience. Angulo, however, has experienced the silent atmosphere in Poland last season, when football there resumed after the coronavirus-forced break.
?When you get out of the bus, you are used to seeing the journalists, the fans, they are waiting for you. When you warm up, there are usually fans in the stadium, shouting and singing and you feel so alone in the current situation. But after the referee blows the whistle, you forget about everything and you are focussed on the game and on the job. But it?s true that the atmosphere is so nice with the stadium full and unfortunately, it is not going to be like this next season.?
Igor Angulo (Photo Credit: Gornik Zabrze Twitter)
THE AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHALLENGE
One of the major factors that played a role in Angulo?s decision to join FC Goa was the opportunity to play in the AFC Champions League. Angulo said he felt a need for a new challenge and thought the FC Goa project was a good one. ?They told me they would be fighting for all the titles ? the league, the playoffs ? and the target is to play good football in Asian Champions League. They wanted to run an ambitious project and so, I think Goa was the answer for my ambitions.?
Angulo said he was aware of the fact that there will be ?great teams? in the ACL but felt FC Goa could be competitive. ?It?s true there are many new faces in the staff and in the team also but I think FC Goa has seen success with this kind of play, trying always to attack and keep the ball in the feet and I don?t think the style is going to change this season. I think we are going to be competitive and I hope this season is the best one for Goa,? he said.
Angulo admitted that between the ISL and the ACL, there would be lesser number of games than what he is used to but he felt it was how it was. He said he has to adapt to it. ?It?s true that it?s new for me because in Europe, it?s not like this but I?m new in India, in the league and I have to adapt to the rules. It?s true that I would like to play more games, I am used to playing 35-40 games per season and here, it?s going to be only 18 in the league plus playoffs and Champions League but it?s not going to be too many.?
Puskur said the club was excited to enter an unchartered territory for Indian club football. Last season, it was the first time that Asian Football Confederation (AFC) allotted an ACL group stage spot to India for whoever wins the ISL league stage. FC Goa grabbed that spot to become the first Indian club to make it to the ACL group stage in the current format of the competition.
Puskur said they were not nervous at the moment since they still didn?t know who they are going to be up against and right now, it was more exciting to them that they will be able to judge themselves on that level.
?For us, it has become an aspiration that it is the level where we consistently want to competing at, not just on a one-time basis. So, it is a good opportunity to see and know that this is the level we need to be at constantly. And then the big thing we are excited about is, we are going to be written off from day 1. If Goa comes out of the group or something, it is going to be considered a footballing miracle. So, we are just there to spoil the party for everyone else and see what happens.?
PRESSURE OF REPLACING CORO TOO MUCH?
Angulo, when he signed for FC Goa, did not know that he was going to be Ferran Corominas? replacement. In the past three seasons with FC Goa, Coro scored a total of 48 goals and was the league?s star striker. Even Angulo, who has the statistics of 88 goals in last four seasons in Poland, has some precedence to follow. Also, Angulo and Coro know each from the Spanish youth setup.
?I knew that Coro was Goa?s main striker in the last years and scored so many goals. I am also a striker but we could have played together as well, that wouldn?t have been a problem with any of us, I think. But finally, Coro wanted to play in another team and it?s his decision and of course, Goa?s family is grateful for the job he did there but now, he is not part of the club and we have to look at the future and I think the future in Goa is better than the past. Of course I have this pressure because the last striker in Goa scored so many goals but I am 36 years old and I have played under pressure and I would take it normally,? Angulo said.
Finding a replacement for Coro was definitely not easy, as Puskur admitted. Puskur said Coro came in and changed what Indian football thought a good striker was. From an average expectancy of 7-8 goals from a striker, it went up to at least 14-15 and that was down to Coro?s first ISL season, where he scored 18.
?When we went into the market, we knew we wanted someone who could allow us to have the comfort going into the season that he could scored 15-16 goals easily. When it was becoming clear that we might not have Coro this year, we had the list of 3-4 players who we had been looking at anyway and we just amplified it a little bit further but ultimately we knew who we wanted to target. Juan (coach Juan Ferrando) also told what kind of striker he wanted and that narrowed our prospects down and then it was just about taking the bus so far and matching the price tag with it.?
Why Coro didn?t get the amount he wanted in order to sign a new contract with FC Goa? Puskur said that Covid-19 pandemic was one of the reasons and ?the numbers didn?t match up, it was simply just that.?
He further said, ?Coro has always been someone who has provided value for money and so, it was never about ?okay, he is not good anymore?. If we ever felt that way, the offer would have never gone his way in the first place.?
Puskur said they had been watching Angulo for the past one and a half to two years so they were well aware of what the Spaniard could bring to the table. He said Angulo just ticked all the boxes for the club and when Juan gave a green flag, they ?went after him and managed to secure his signature.?
Angulo?s ability to consistently find the back of the net was the major underlying factor as to why the Spaniard was on the radar of FC Goa?s technical team. ?He was a player whose coming off the back of scoring 100 odd goals in the past four seasons and it wasn?t just one season, he did it over and over again,? Puskur stated.
The other qualities that Angulo the footballer impressed Goa with were his pressing high up, hard work even when the team doesn?t have the ball, positioning intelligence once the possession is with his team, a knack for smelling out goals and an excellent associative play.
Igor Angulo (Photo Credit: Gornik Zabrze Twitter)
WHO IS IGOR ANGULO?
When FC Goa go looking for a player, especially a foreigner, there are certain humane factors that they focus on ? how they are able to interact with the team, to how they could fit, to culturally how they are going to adjust. Puskur believes that playing the game is 70 per cent of the job while the 30 per cent of their calculation is about how the player is off the field.
?Is he a good eater? Does he rest well? Does he look after himself? Does he interact well with the other boys? Does he have a good rapport with the coaching staff? Does he take self interest in areas of development??
Before any final call is taken, the player must fulfill these criteria. So, how much did Angulo stand true to these qualities?
?When I spoke to Igor for the first time, immediately he exuded confidence. He was somebody who had a strong character and to me, he came across as someone who could be a leader in the dressing room as well and I?m sure it will reflect once the season begins,? Puskur recalled.
Puskur further described Angulo as a ?motivated individual?. He stated that Angulo wants to make a point in Asian football.
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