Leaving my hometown Goa was tough, but it was the right decision: ATK Mohun Bagan’s Liston Colaco

ATK Mohun Bagan forward Liston Colaco has opined that leaving his hometown Goa was tough but feels it was the right decision. The 2-year-old youngster was signed on a record transfer fee, which is the highest for any Indian player in the ISL, back in April 2021.

Liston commenced his ISL journey with FC Goa before making the move to Hyderabad FC, during the 2020 transfer window. The talented youngster played a total of 23 matches for Hyderabad FC in which he scored four goals and provided three assists.

On the other hand, Liston played 19 out of those 23 matches in the recently concluded season, in which he scored twice and provided three assists. Thus, he played an instrumental role in helping Hyderabad FC in finishing at the fifth position in the league stage.

Colaco’s impressive performance in the seventh edition of the Hero ISL helped him earn a maiden call-up to the national squad. Furthermore, the youngster recently scored a hat-trick against Bangladesh’s club Basundhara Kings in the AFC Cup 2022 in May.

“It was tough to leave my hometown, it was difficult, but as a professional, you need to make these sacrifices. I made the right decision.” Colaco told The Times of India in an interview.

Liston revealed he wasn’t getting enough game time while playing for the Gaurs.

“The prime reason why I left FC Goa is that I was not getting playing time. I used to not like to come from home for the matches to sit in the stands. I wanted to play, that’s why I made the decision,” he said.

“I was not sure about it at the start because I had never played outside Goa. Then I made my mind up and decided to make the move, whatever happens. The last two seasons were (played) inside a bio-secure bubble (in Goa), so it did not affect me,” added Colaco.

Meanwhile, Colaco hasn’t yet scored for the Blue Tigers and he said he wants to get on the scoring sheet for the national team.

“I want to score for my country,” said Colaco.

“At the club level, we train for months, but with the national team, we need to train more together and understand each other. That’s how we will improve. Regarding my (goal-scoring) form, it will take time. I think in the next games, I will definitely score,” he added.