Among many acquisitions during this transfer window, the one that stood out is Alvaro Vazquez swapping shirts to join FC Goa. He was warmly welcomed by the Gaurs as they understand the value of the Spaniard ever since his glorious stint with Kerala Blasters last season. The former Espanyol striker played a massive part in helping the Blasters qualify for the Indian Super League final where they lost to Hyderabad FC on penalties.

FC Goa were always interested in Alvaro Vazquez even before he landed in India. However Vazquez chose Kerala and there he had a fantastic season. But he eventually came to Goa and will hopefully be worth the wait for the passionate fans.

Ahead of the preseason the Spaniard decided to sit with the media and share his experiences from India and abroad. He had a tremendous season with the Blasters as they developed a fearsome forwardline with him in the centre and was surrounded by talented players like Jogre Pereyra Diaz, Adrian Luna and Sahal Abdul Samad. It was basically an attacking quartet that had a massive role to play in the Blasters success last season.

Speaking about his experience in Kerala and regarding the Kerala Blasters fans, Vazquez was full of praises. He lauded them time and again for showing tremendous support and kept him pushing even when they were in the bio bubble last season.

“It was a different experience for me, I didn’t expect it. It was a new country and culture. I was positively surprised as I hadn’t heard much about the league. I like how I’ve been received here, both in Kerala and in India. For the Kerala fans, I have nothing but words of gratitude because of how they supported me. Not just me, but also for my partner and my family,” the Spaniard stated.

He wants to share the same bond with the FC Goa fans and especially now he will have a chance to personally meet with some of them as there are no constraints of the bio bubble.

When you think about FC Goa forwardline the first name that comes to mind is Ferran Corominas who has been a trailblazer for the Gaurs for years in the ISL. Then came Igor Angulo who also scored loads of goals and was very prolific. However Alvaro Vazquez has no added pressure as he is not looking to replicate anyone and his primary focus is to help FC Goa win more titles in the upcoming season.

“For me, there is no added pressure. First and foremost, I want to help the team. Hopefully, I can try and reach the levels that they (Corominas and Angulo) did. However, my idea will be to help Goa and win as many titles as possible. We are not trying to get individual trophies, but collective ones. That’s the primary focus,” Vazquez added.

When questioned about decision to join Goa, the Spaniard highlighted the positive feedback that he got from some of the former Spanish players who have played for the club. He even had a talk with head coach Carlos Pena and was certain that this was a right decision.

“It was my agent who first alerted me to Goa’s interest. I had the opportunity to speak with players who had played at the club about their experiences. Finally, when I spoke to the coach (Carlos Pena), he convinced me that this was the decision that I needed to make and one that would challenge me,” he concluded.

It wil be interesting to see how Alvaro Vazquez turns out to be under the tutelage of Carlos Pena at FC Goa as they are keen to get back up in the league again.