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Football

"I don't feel extra pressure to match up to somebody," asserts FC Goa's star signing Alvaro Vazquez

Alvaro Vazquez, one of the biggest transfers of the current ISL transfer window, speaks about replicating former teammate Ferran Corominas' success at FC Goa.

I dont feel extra pressure to match up to somebody, asserts FC Goas star signing Alvaro Vazquez
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In his first season in the Indian Super League in 2021/22, Alvaro Vazquez finished with 8 games and 2 assists to his name as he propelled Kerala Blasters to their first final appearance since 2016. (ISL)

By

Triyasha Chatterjee

Updated: 30 Jun 2022 11:48 AM GMT

Alvaro Vazquez, the adored centre forward for the Kerala Blasters, sent shockwaves through the ISL transfer window as the Spaniard shifted his base to FC Goa this summer. Vazquez had scored eight goals in 23 appearances for the Yellow Army last season.

Speaking on the reasons for his move, the forward stated: "When my contract finished, I decided to sign with FC Goa because Goa were the ones who showed that they genuinely wanted me in the project and they were ready. They had a very clear idea of it.

"It was my agent who first alerted me about Goa's interest. Then I also took the opportunity to speak to other players who had already played at the club and asked them about their experiences. And then obviously, once I spoke to the coach as well, it just convinced me," he said.

Vazquez is a former teammate of Ferran Corominas from Espanyol, the former FC Goa heartthrob who has established some impeccable records for the Gaurs. Given how fans at Kerala Blasters took to Vazquez, it can be expected FC Goa fans can have a lot of expectations from him, but can their latest signing match up to Coro's impeccable record of scoring 23 goals in 20 appearances?

"I obviously don't feel any extra pressure to have to score goals or to match up to somebody else's achievements in the past. What I'm really looking to work towards is just to try and help the team as much as possible. What we're looking to work towards is to try and win trophies, not individual trophies, but collective trophies. And I'm pretty certain that if we get up to those levels, we can achieve whatever we set out for ourselves as targets," he said.

Speaking about his experience of sharing the dressing room with Coro in Espanyol back during the start of their careers, the former KBFC man said: "From what I remember of Coro, I mean back when we shared a dressing room, was that he was a player who played mostly in the wings and would appear to move inside space a lot. He was very quick and was a player who came into the box quite often, and I think he demonstrated that in India when he was here in terms of his goal-scoring ability.

"In regards to expectations or living up to Coro's standards and everything, obviously, I want to help the team as much as possible. Hopefully, I can try and reach the levels that are needed but not somebody's level, I'm just trying to do the best for my team to try and help go out with as many titles as possible."

Alvaro Vasquez will be an important part of FC Goa's Spanish foreign contingent including Iker Guarrotxena, Marc Valiente and former FC Goa skipper Edu Bedia along with Coach Carlos Pena who has also been a former Indian Super League player.

Speaking on the Spanish contingent at the heart of Goa's fortunes and whether it will be an advantage for him to play as part of it, he said, "I think it's going to be big obviously, that the coach has already played in this league. We will know what is expected of us physically and tactically to be successful in this league.

"I think we will have a good atmosphere here and I'm sure we can all gonna be pushing each other to try and do the best to help the team get to where they want to be," he said.

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