FC Goa have played all of four games in the fourth edition of the Indian Super League so far, but their Spanish striker Ferran Corominas, better known as Coro, has already scored back-to-back hat-tricks and netted seven of his side’s 13 goals.
The Spanish striker scored his second hat-trick last week as Goa hammered Kerala Blasters 5-2. He had earlier notched a hat-trick in a seven-goal thriller to beat Bengaluru FC 4-3 at home. His hat-trick against Kerala was the fastest in ISL history, scoring three goals in only seven minutes. It was also the first consecutive hat-trick in the league and the Spaniard is clearly enjoying the league.
“I’m enjoying it for sure,” Coro told The Field. “The team is doing well too so that’s very important as well. The feeling is that the league is very balanced one and the teams are very of a good level across the board. I’ve loved playing at home in front of our fans as they have been something else altogether. I am also impressed with the quality of the playing fields so far and also the ambience and the atmosphere the ISL creates.”
Coro has been star of the season for Goa, a club he picked ignoring more lucrative offers from other ISL teams. Asked why he had chosen the Gaurs, he said that he had done his homework.
“I did a bit of research and spoke to people who had already been here. They spoke well very of the place and the people. I also spoke to the coach and he told us about the idea he had for the club and knowing that there were other Spanish players coming here, helped influence me in taking my decision to come to Goa,” he said.
One of the most successful overseas players in the ongoing ISL, he has the experience of playing in the top-flight of the La Liga and was part of Espanyol’s Copa del Rey-winning squad in 2006. He spent a majority of his career with Espanyol, before a fallout with former team mate and then coach, Mauricio Pochettino – a topic he would like to move on from, he reiterates. He has also played for CA Osasuna, Girona FC and Elche CF, before finding his way towards India.
Coro admits that he has been pleasantly surprised by the level of the side, as the unit, previously managed by Brazilian legend Zico, have won three out of four matches so far, with their only loss so far coming against Mumbai City FC.
“I’ve been surprised with some of the young players within the team. And also the ones with experience have really conducted themselves very well,” he said.
Powerhouse on field
On his part, the 34-year-old has been a powerhouse on field, with his incisive goal runs leaving opposition defenders by the wayside as he finds the back of the net. The flair with which he has scored his two hat-tricks is synonymous with the Spanish style that Goa coach Sergio Lobera Rodrigues has been trying to inculcate in the side.
One of the things that Coro seems to enjoy doing is peeling off defenders, and finding himself in a position to finish, indicative of his poacher’s instinct. During his seven-minute blitzkrieg against the Blasters, the Spanish forward ran the central defensive pairing of Sandesh Jhingan and Nemanja Lakic-Pesic ragged.
The first goal, when he ran straight through the middle, was expertly tucked into the corner. The second, from a similar run, resulted in a lob over keeper Paul Rachubka. The goal for the hat-trick was scored when Goa broke at devastating pace, as Manuel Lanzarote strode to the edge of the box, before crossing it into the path of Coro, who had ghosted in from nowhere, to expertly finish the move.
Lobera, who has tutored the likes of Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Jordi Cruyff, had spoken about wanting Goa to play a particular style of football – quite like the tiki-taka style that his former club Barcelona had popularised. And while the entire Goa team seems to have picked up on the coach’s call, it is Coro, along with Lanzarote, who have lead the act.
Coro, whose decision to come to Goa was influenced in part by Lobera, has a lot of positive things to say about the coach.
“The style of play he proposes is one where we have the ball and that allows us to enjoy ourselves on the field. We do a lot of our work with the ball and for a footballer that is always good,” he said.
The 34-year-old believes that the possession-based style is complementing the team very well. “We’ve shown that it’s working. We are dominating games and we are reaping the rewards for it too. I personally like this style of football and I think the players find it a pleasure to play this way too,” he added.
With good performances in the opening weeks, the expectations from the 2015 finalists have been raised. And Coro is at the centre of it. But the striker doesn’t make much of it. “I have been scoring goals and I just try to work hard and come out with my best possible in every game. I try to maintain the level and that’s that really.”
The level that Coro has set is high, and fans will be looking forward to what other records the prolific striker will break next.
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