After 2015 fiasco, Goa gets to host another ISL final

PANAJI: FC Goa have been handed a massive boost to add the Indian Super League (ISL) title to their historic AFC Champions League group stage spot.
Goa finished their league engagements on top with their best points tally and secured a prized Asian spot. Now, the organisers have confirmed that the ISL final will be played at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on March 14, an announcement that is likely to spur the league toppers.
“FC Goa has been the most consistent team over six years. A fantastic team, and it's such a joy to watch them. Goa deserves to host the final. There is no denying that Goa loves its football,” Nita Ambani, chairperson of Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), the body that organises ISL, told TOI on Friday.
Goa last hosted the ISL final in 2015, when Zico’s boys were only a few minutes away from the title. Leading 2-1, at the fag end of the match, Goa, quite unexpectedly, conceded two goals in the last three minutes as Chennaiyin FC snatched the title 3-2 from right under Goa’s boots.
Several fans, many of whom had paid five times the actual price of tickets to find a seat at Fatorda, were left in tears, while the team boycotted the prize distribution ceremony.
Things turned from bad to worse when the Margao police arrested of Chennaiyin captain Elano Blumer for an alleged assault on the FC Goa co-owner.
Since then, much has changed. Goa now have new owners and another chance to win the ISL for the first time.
Goa, however, will be aware that in five ISL editions, the champions have never won the trophy on home soil. Goa (2015), Kerala Blasters (2016) and Bengaluru FC (2018) all made it to the final and were favourites to clinch the trophy on home soil, only to be left bitterly disappointed. The two other finals have both been held at two different stadiums in Mumbai, a neutral venue.
The Super Cup champions are waiting to know their semifinal opponents and will face either Bengaluru FC or Chennaiyin FC – both of whom have defeated Goa in previous finals – who will finish fourth. While Goa defeated Chennaiyin twice this season, their only win against Bengaluru, now the defending champions, was in 2017.