FC Goa have announced the signing of the former Hyderabad FC defender Odei Onaindia ahead of the upcoming season. Onaindia is one of the most sought-after names in Indian football and with him joining the ranks in Goa will only help the Gaurs reach the next level.
Interestingly, Onaindia has had two stints in the ISL as he first came to play for Hyderabad FC in the 2020-21 season. But after the season was one the experienced Spanish defender returned to his native land. But last season he joined Manolo Marquez’s team again to bolster the defence and joined the Nizams for his second stint. He now joins FC Goa and gets reunited with Marquez once again.
Onaindia is a very fine defender and has exceptional leadership skills in defence. He guided the Nizams to a second-place finish in the league last season. Marquez and the Spanish defender will hope that they can achieve something similar with the Gaurs aswell as they are building a new team almost from scratch.
This is FC Goa’s eighth signing of the transfer window. They have added some young and experienced players like Rowllin Borges, Udanta Singh, Boris Singh, Sandesh Jhingan and Raynier Fernandes. Onaindia becomes the third foreign signing of the window after the likes of Paulo Retre and Carlos Martinez.
Onaindia was delighted to put pen to paper as he stated, “I’m thrilled about my opportunity with FC Goa. Having played against them for two seasons now, I’m aware how the team has always been competitive and tough to face. I strongly feel that we’ll have a good season this time.”
He also highlighted how some of his friends would always speak good things about the club and the management. He also shared that having coach Marquez and staff at the helm also helped him in taking the final call.
“Over the years, I’ve had a few friends who have played for Goa, and all of them have only spoken very well of the club and the place. The fact that Coach Manolo and his staff are here as well, also helped me in making up my mind.
“I cannot wait to join up with my new teammates in training, and make the fans of this great club proud,” he continued.
Ravi Puskur, FC Goa’s Director of Football was very satisfied that Onaindia has signed for the Gaurs. He expects big things from the veteran Spanish defender. He is also excited to see the centre back pairing of him and Sandesh Jhingan in the upcoming season.
“Odei has undoubtedly been one of the standout center backs in the Hero ISL over the past couple of seasons. As a highly skilled operator and an understated leader, he possesses the ability to marshal the backline with great finesse,” he stated.
“His presence will undoubtedly help us create a strong defensive unit. His potential partnership with Sandesh holds a lot of promise for our future success as we aim to build a strong defensive unit to compete for top honours this season,” he further added.
The 33-year-old has played 41 matches in the ISL which has resulted in 3715 minutes. He has had an 80.96% passing accuracy. He has also tallied 1.80 tackles, 1.32 interceptions, 4.24 clearances and 1.63 blocks per game during this period. He was a pivotal part of the Hyderabad FC team that conceded only 16 goals last season and recorded the best defensive performance.
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