We would have loved to have Cristiano Ronaldo play in Goa: Manolo Marquez

Panaji: Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on Wednesday night made everyone’s hearts beat faster than ever.As members of the FC Goa Fan Club, who had travelled to Riyadh for the AFC Champions League Two clash against Al-Nassr, shared video footage of Ronaldo alighting from the team bus and the club shared pictures on social media, many were left wondering if the Portugal superstar would finally make an appearance in Asian football’s second-tier club competition.As it turned out, Ronaldo didn’t even make it to the match-day squad. He warmed up along with the other players near the home dressing room and later worked out in the gymnasium, leaving travelling fans, and even the Goa players, disappointed.“I respect the job of my colleagues and can perfectly understand why Cristiano did not play in Goa (last month) and even here,” Goa coach Manolo Marquez said at the post-match media interaction.

“The decision of the coach (to rest the player) is normal. Obviously, we would have loved to have Cristiano play in Goa. But I can understand the situation.”Al-Nassr had Ronaldo in the stands and all their stars on the bench, yet the Saudi Pro League giants had enough quality to expose the gulf in difference between them and Goa as they cruised to a 4-0 win in Riyadh. Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored a brace while Mohammed Marran and Joao Felix were also among the goals.

“Al-Nassr are at a different level,” said Manolo. “In the first half we defended with order, more or less very good. But in the second half, we defended with lot of numbers (behind the ball) than with order. When we faced them at home, in front of our fans, the home pitch, the (favourable) conditions, we were very brave in Goa.“Obviously the pressing of Al-Nassr is better than all the Indian clubs. If we don't try to play (the ball forward), we will lose the ball immediately and then they attack constantly.”Goa are at the bottom of the group, without a point in ACL2. The Spanish coach, however, said his team has improved playing against quality opposition in the competition.“For sure, the experience has helped. Between the two Al-Nassr matches, we played in the Super Cup and qualified for the semifinals. Our pace is much better than the other teams. This is the reason why I keep saying that the target for Goa should be to qualify for Asian competitions, every season. Such games will only increase our level,” said Manolo.