ISL 2020-21: Igor Angulo has big boots to fill at FC Goa

Ferran Corominas will not be part of the seventh edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).

The Spaniard, ever since he joined the Gaurs’ outfit in 2017, took the league by storm. Having scored his first goal 25 minutes in his FC Goa debut in the 3-2 win against Chennaiyin FC, he made it a habit to score goals and was certainly an important cog in the club’s ambition to play a beautiful brand of attacking football.

The former Espanyol forward signed off with 48 goals from 57 matches to become the league’s all-time top scorer. He scored a total of 55 goals in 64 appearances for the club in all competitions and also holds the record for most number of goals (18) by a player in a single edition of the ISL. He also has won back-to-back Golden Boot awards along with the Hero of the League award when helped Goa reach the 2018-19 ISL final and won the 2019 Super Cup.

Corominas was one of the most consistent performers as he achieved double figures for three consecutive seasons, a feat no player has been able to match. He also has scored the fastest hat-trick in the ISL (seven minutes) in a 5-2 win over Kerala Blasters.

Following Corominas’ statement in an interview with Goal that the Goan club “hasn’t valued” him for his performance, he went on to join Segunda Division B side Atletico Baleares.

FC Goa, it must be said have done a commendable job in signing Igor Angulo, who scored 88 goals in 154 games for Gornik Zabrze in Poland. Certainly, they have replaced a top player like Corominas with another player who knows how to score goals consistently.

In one of his first interactions after penning a deal with the Gaurs, the 37-year-old didn’t show any signs of pressure of having to replace Corominas. It must be noted that Angulo has previously shared the dressing room with Corominas at the U-21 Spain national team.

“I know that I am going to replace Coro (Corominas) because he has scored so many goals for the club, but I’m used to having this kind of pressure. In the last four years, I had the pressure to be the best for the team,” Angulo stated.

Having represented Athletic Bilbao in the La Liga early in his career, he later joined Ejica and the top scorer in the  2009-10 Segunda Division B with nine goals from 19 games.

Angulo’s best performance in Spain was for Real Union where he scored 13 goals from 32 appearances.

Then in Greece, he represented Apollon Smyrnis and Platanias before moving to Polish side Gornik Zabrze in 2016 where he would eventually be included in the club’s Hall of Fame.

Angulo played a vital role in Gornik Zabrze gaining promotion to the Ekstraklasa – the Polish top division – as I Liga runners-up in his first season as the club’s top scorer (17). He then became the league’s second highest goalscorer with 23 goals besides helping the team make it to the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. He subsequently went on to win the Golden Boot with 24 goals from 37 games.

Having helped Gornik Zabrze qualify for the UEFA Europa League after a gap of 23, the 36-year-old scored in the Polish club’s first tie that ended in a 1-0 win over Zaria Balti in the European competition via a glancing header from around the edge of the box to make his European debut a memorable one.

This season at FC Goa as well, just as Corominas had started bagging goals in Spain during the club’s pre-season friendlies ahead of ISL season four in Spain, Angulo has also scored in each of the three friendlies Goa has played so far.

Certainly a good start and FC Goa fans would hope that he produces the goods on his debut for the club against Bengaluru FC on Sunday.