FC Goa hope to make it count at Ronaldo's home

Panaji: FC Goa players stepped inside the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh and were instantly enamoured with its beauty.Originally constructed in the 1970s to serve as a sporting venue for the university's students and staff, the stadium, renamed Al -Awwal Park due to sponsorship reasons, is now home to Al-Nassr FC and one of the world’s greatest footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo.No wonder Goa could not hide its excitement.Pictures shared by the club showed players admiring the away dressing room, taking pictures and videos of the stands, and huddling together for selfies as they stepped on to the turf. The social media feed of many players, even support staff, is sure to buzz in the next few hours as they tell the world about their historic presence at the stadium in Saudi Arabia.When Goa take the field for the AFC Champions League Two group-stage clash against Al-Nassr at the Al -Awwal Park on Wednesday night, they’ll do well to forget who’s in front of them.

At least for 90 minutes.“We are not here to admire the stadium or exchange jerseys,” coach Manolo Marquez told TOI. “We are here to try and play a good game, be competitive. We have seen surprising things happen in football, so let’s see what happens (on the field).”When Goa faced the Saudi Pro League giants – who arrived without their captain Ronaldo – at Fatorda last month, they were competitive and put up a fight, despite conceding twice in the first 30 minutes.

For the next hour, the Super Cup champions kept a clean slate and even scored through Brison Fernandes as the match ended 1-2, with Spanish midfielder David Timor being sent off for aggression towards the match official.Even at home, Ronaldo is unlikely to be part of Al-Nassr’s match-day squad and could instead be watching from the royal box. Other stars like Liverpool legend Sadio Mane and Portugal international Joao Felix will have limited roles to play as Goa aims to turn encouraging performances into tangible results against one of Asia’s most star-studded teams.“We are here to compete in the best way against a very big team like Al-Nassr,” said Manolo. “It's an honour for all of us –players, coaches, fans, club -- to be here, playing these kind of games, and representing Indian football (on the continental stage). These are the games that everyone will remember for life.”The experienced Spanish coach is expected to field five foreign players at the start, Iker Guarrotxena returning from injury to step into the boots of suspended Timor.

Manolo must also choose between Nim Dorjee and Ronney Willson for an additional man in defence.Al-Nassr come into the match looking to respond after a turbulent week in domestic football.The Saudi Pro League giants were eliminated from the King’s Cup following a defeat to Al Ittihad, before narrowly edging past Al Fayha with a late stoppage-time penalty in their most recent league outing. The mixed form is so unlike what Al-Nassr did at the start of the season, winning nine games in a row.Al-Nassr will now look to seal their place in the Round of 16 with two matches to spare.Any other result will spark celebrations in India. Is it possible? In the words of Manolo “surprising things happen.”Indian football awaits a surprise.