COACH CONTROL: With Brazilian samba, last chance for Zico to establish a legacy

FOR ZICO, this is the first time he will get to field a team completely of his own making. Last year, unfamiliarity with the country and uncertainty about how ISL was going to turn out, coupled with an international draft to pick players from and a tie-up with Dempo, led to an FC Goa side heavy on certain star names but not quite optimized in terms of quality. Despite that, Zico managed to guide them to a semi-final berth, losing out to Atletico de Kolkata in penalties.

This time, however, he comes with a better understanding of ISL and the Indian football landscape in general. He retained 8 players, brought over foreigners with Indian experience including Jofre from Atletico de Kolkata, Darryl Duffy from Salgaocar FC as well as Luciano Sabrosa from Pune FC, and went on to fill the team with a string of Brazilian players in every department, most in their mid-30s, to give the team a tangible Brazilian flavour. 

For someone with a uniquely awe-inspiring playing career like Zico, it's hard to follow up with a coaching career that looks half as decent in comparison. The likes of Diego Maradona and Frank Rijkaard have tried and failed. Zico's various coaching stints around the world, while not utterly remarkable, shows the kind of vision and constructive stability he brings to a team. His longest stint, as the Japan national team manager, saw him guide them to an Asian Cup win in 2004. He helped them qualify for the 2006 World Cup with ease, delivering Stephen Constantine's India a 7-0 downing in the process. At the finals in Germany, however, their performance was below par and he resigned. 

During most of his short stays as manager at a club, he helped them win a title of some sort. At Fenerbahçe he won the Super Lig and the Super Cup. At Bunyodkor it was the Uzbekistani League and Cup. At CSKA Moscow he won the Russian Cup and Super Cup. Even as the manager of the Iraqi national team, his numbers were good, and his stint could have come to something had it not been cut short by his problems with the board.

Zico, as a manager, has always sought to establish a legacy at whatever team he has taken charge of. So far the only time he has managed to leave a mark like that has been with Fenerbahçe, where he became the first manager to lead the club to a Champions League quarter-final. But in most other places, things have always seemed to fall apart before his vision could take shape, leading to failure at the big stage or a premature end to his tenure. 

And now, he is standing on a crossroads of his post-playing career. He has announced that he will run for the post of FIFA president next year. He has already had some experience as an administrator, having served as the Brazilian sports minister for a while. But switching over to administration also means, the upcoming Indian Super League may be the last time he gets to be a coach for a long time to come. 

Which is why this season is so important to Zico. He not only wants to win the trophy for FC Goa, but also to establish the franchise's playing style, its foreign flavour and its general direction for years to come. He wants to be remembered as the one who set them on a long term path of success. Last year he came close but this time it's almost now or never. 

And that's why he has used his contacts and influence in Brazilian football to the fullest and recruited experienced players still playing regular top division football. Andre Santos had to be replaced, mostly due to the new salary cap ISL has introduced, but working with the limited resources, Zico has created a squad that, in spite of relying on foreingers, has a definitive playing style to fall back on. It also makes things easier for Zico to communicate faster with his players as quite a few of them will easily follow his Portuguese. 

It won't be surprising if FC Goa, at times, are seen playing with 6 Brazilians and 5 Indians. For the multitudes of Indian football fans who admire Brazilian football, this team may turn out to be a dream come true. And for Zico, this season's ISL may be one final chance to shine on the pitchside before beginning a long stint as a football diplomat. With the whole world watching his every move as a potential leader of the sport, the stakes for the legendary footballing personality is higher than ever.