MARQUEE MANIA: Lucio is the sacrum taking the weight of Zico's 'samba spine'

ZICO'S FC GOA HAS A distinct Brazilian flavour this year. He has collected no less than seven players from his homeland, across all positions, easily making them the second most common nationality in the team. Of the seven, six are experienced hands, all in their mid-thirties, except Jonathan Lucca. And the most impressive of this lot is renowned Brazilian centre back Lucimar Ferreira da Silva, aka Lúcio.

Lúcio fits right into the qualities Zico was looking for in most of his Brazilian signings: sizeable experience of playing top division football in a reputed league (or I-League, in the case of Luciano Sabrosa), and match-fitness, regardless of age. This has resulted in the likes of Victor Simões, Reinaldo and Elinton Andrade being recruited to play for the Gaurs, creating something akin to a 'Samba Spine' for the Gaurs. Lúcio happens to be the most important bone in that spinal column: the centre-back bone, or the sacrum, if you will. 

The 37 year old from the Planaltina federal district of Brazil has had a world class career in every way. He has had memorable stints at some of the big clubs of Europe like Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. At Bayern Munich he has won the Bundesliga-Pokal double three times. At Inter Milan he won the Serie A, UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. And for Brazil, in his 11 years of national duty earning 105 caps, he got to lift the FIFA World Cup over his head in 2002, and the FIFA Confederations Cup, twice. The second time, it was his goal that sealed the win for Brazil, over USA. 

6 foot 2 inch tall and physically imposing, Lúcio is known for his sharp tackles, aggressive but controlled challenges, ability to read the opponent, and intelligent supply of passes to and beyond the midifield. His mobility in the central defence puts strikers off, and he can chase a striker with a dogged determination.

His presence gives FC Goa the chance to create a defensive line several times stronger than last year's. With Lúcio and Gregory Arnolin in the midddle, Narayan Das on the left and Debabrata Roy on the right, the Gaurs get an Indo-Brazilian wall that has the potential to keep out the very best attackers ISL can offer. 

The inaugural ISL was chock full of stories where marquee players failed to deliver. It happened to FC Goa, too; out-of-retirement Robert Pires proved to be more or less a burden to the team. Which is why Zico has made sure to sign players that were actively playing till summer 2015.

And so was Lúcio; at Brazilian top tier club Palmeiras where he made 25 league appearances in the 2014-15 season. This proves that he is still quite match-fit at this age. And after a lengthy, challenging pre-season at the UAE he will be more than ready to play the Gaurs' sacrum as they charge towards the ISL season, with the intention to put up a title challenge stronger than last time. 

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