A goalkeeper by accident, Mohammad Nawaz started his youth career at YOSC (Youth Organisation Social Club) at his native in Imphal, Manipur. An injury to their regular keeper opened the doors for the talented youngster who never looked back.

Having impressed at various national level tournaments for Manipur, the youngster was drafted in to the national U16 set up. The athletic Nawaz made it to the Indian team for the U16 AFC Championships in 2016 but missed the squad for the FIFA U17 World Cup.

Nawaz signed for FC Goa in January, 2018. He played for the Gaurs in the Goa Pro League as well as the I-League second division in the 2017/18. His impressive displays caught the eye of Sergio Lobera, who promoted him to the senior ahead of the 2018/19 ISL season.

A Goa native, Laxmikant Kattimani started his football career with Vasco SC in 2008 before moving on to Dempo SC a year later. Kattimani went on to make 42 appearances for Dempo in the I-league and other competitions.

He was been with FC Goa since the first year of the Hero Indian Super League. He made his mark in the second year of the ISL with inspired performances between the sticks to become the number 1 goal-keeper and lead the team to the final of the tournament.

After captaining the side last season, Kattimani is back for his fifth season with the Gaurs.

Lalthuammawia Ralte is a young goalkeeper known for his agility and shot-stopping prowess. The man from Mizoram started his professional career with Shillong Lajong, making his debut in 2011. His performances brought in rave reviews as he helped his side to the semi-finals of the Federation Cup that year.

He joined Bengaluru FC in their inaugural season in 2014. With him between the sticks, the team from the Garden City won the I-League in their very first season.

A product of the famous La Masia academy in Barcelona, the veteran Spanish defender represented Barcelona C and Barcelona B before moving tournament Albacete.

The Spaniard stayed at Albacete for four seasons before moving to Recreativo de Huelva and then on to Real Valladolid. Peña spent some of his most successful years at Valladolid – helping the club gain promotion to La Liga in his second season there.

The 35-year-old went on to represent Oviedo, Getafe and finally Lorca FC before joining FC Goa.

From Caranzalem, Goa, Mohamed Ali started his exploits in his school at Don Bosco, Panjim. His first club at the youth level was Goa United before moving on to Calangute Association and Dempo SC.

Ali went on to play for a number of clubs in the Goa Pro League which included Sporting Clube de Goa, Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim and Tuff Laxmi Prasad before coming back to Dempo. It was with Dempo that he played in the 2015/16 I-League 2nd Division season, helping the club to gain promotion that season.

Ali joined NEROCA before the final round of the 2016–17 season of the I-League 2nd Division and for a second season running, helped his side get promoted.

The defender was selected by FC Goa in in the 10th round of the 2017 ISL Draft and has been a Gaur ever since.

Chinglensana Singh Konsham was born in Manipur and began playing football at the age of seven. His career began at Mahindra United before joining the Tata Football Academy where he further honed his skills. He won the U-19 I-league in 2014 with TFA. His obvious talent even took him to England where he played with the Sheffield United U-18 team.

The young defender signed his first professional contract with his home state team, Shilling Lajong in January 2016. Due to his strong performances for the Manipur side, he was drafted into the Delhi Dynamos FC team for the third season of the Indian Super League. He was a regular feature for Gianluca Zambrotta’s side helping the team to third on the table after the group stage.

The youngster plays as a centre back and is blessed with strength, positioning sense and speed. As a result of his strong performances at club level, he was named in the U-19 Indian side. He even featured as an unused substitute for the senior side.

The central defender was the third draft pick for FC Goa in the 2017 ISL Draft.

The teenager from Mizoram began his career with his home town Aizawl FC. A centre-back by trade, the teenager caught the eye in the U18 I-League held in Shillong in 2017.

His brilliance at the back helped Aizawl put together an impressive run in the group stages. The side qualified for the final round on the back on three clean sheets.

A composed player on the ball, Lalhmangaihsanga has good technique and all the attributes for him to be a modern day centre-back.

A veteran of the game, Nirmal Chhetri is a well-known figure in Indian football.

Making his debut in 2006 for Air India, the man from Sikkim has gone on to represent both the Kolkata giants – East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

Chhetri played the first two seasons of the ISL for Kerala Blasters, helping the side to an appearance in the final in 2015. He then moved to NorthEast United – with whom he spent his last two years.

Starting off his youth journey at Chicalim Youth Club, Saviour Gama was given his first professional contract in 2016. Playing as a striker to begin with, his raw talent drew attention and praise.

The talented youngster joined FC Goa in 2017. Initially with the development team, his continued improvement saw him being promoted to the senior team for this season.

The 30-year-old Mourtada Fall brings with him both experience as well as a real presence at the back. The Senegalese defender has had three stints with Moghreb Tetouan, the last two sandwiched by a couple of years with Wydad AC.

Having begun his career with Tetouan where he spent six years at the club starting from 2006. Following his first stint, he moved on to two different for the following two seasons - Kuwait-based sides Al-Arabi SC and Al-Salmiya SC.

Fall has won the Botola – the Moroccan League twice and the CAF (Confederation of African Football) Champions League once, all with Wydad.

Seriton Fernandes was born in Goa and began his career with the youth setup of, Dempo Sports Club. He signed for Laxmi Prasad Sports Club in 2014 to play in the Goa Professional League.

A year later, he transferred to Churchill Brothers. However, before the start of the 2015/16 I-League season, Seriton was loaned to Sporting Clube De Goa with whom he signed a permanent contract five months later.

A versatile player, Seriton has shown an ability to play as a winger as well as full back. He was selected by FC Goa in the 2017 Indian Super League Draft and is currently playing in his second season at the club.

Born in Cassablanca, Morocco, Ahmed Jahouh has spent the majority of his playing years in the country of his birth. He began his career with Ittihad Khemisset for whom he made over 30 appearances. He then moved on to Moghreb Tetouan where he joined up with current FC Goa head coach, Sergio Lobera Rodriguez.

Under Lobera, Ahmed flourished as a deep lying playmaker. A strong tackler in the middle of the park, his towering frame and physicality helps him control the pace of the game.

Jahouh is also a serious aerial threat and his presence will be important in set-piece situations. Capped at the international level, Jahouh brings experience to FC Goa. He signed for the Gaurs from Moroccan club, FUS Rabat in 2017.

Born in Margao, Brandon Fernandes began his football career at the age of just six with Fransa-Pax.

However, following the disbanding of the club, he moved on to the Velsao Pale Sports Club. Brandon joined Salgaocar not long after and played for their various youth sides at the youth level. His impressive performances earned him an opportunity to enroll with the ASD Football Academy in Cape Town, South Africa.

It was in South Africa that he attracted interest from various English clubs like Leicester, Sunderland and Reading. He continued to play for the ASD academy in the third division of South Africa where he managed an impressive 12 goals in 12 games.

In 2014, Brandon was called up to the Goa-India squad to play in the 2014 Lusofonia Games that were held in Goa. In four games, he netted three goals, including one in the final of the tournament, helping his side to clinch a memorable victory against Mozambique.

Brandon has also played for a number of I-league teams including Sporting Clube de Goa, Mohun Bagan and most recently, Churchill Brothers, under current FC Goa Director of Football, Derrick Pereira. In the ISL, Brandon has represented Mumbai City FC.

Brandon became FC Goa’s fourth draft pick of the 2017 ISL Draft and is one of the many local players in the FC Goa squad for the fifth season of the ISL.

Born in Santader, Canabria in Spain, Eduardo ‘Edu’ Bedia graduated from hometown club, Racing Santander’s youth academy. He made his La Liga debut in 2008 and went on to play just under 20 games in his debut season.

Edu moved on from Santander and made appearances for various clubs in Spain’s first and second division. He had successful stints with Hercules and Barcelona B where he further honed his skills as a central midfielder.

After a brief stint with Real Zaragoza, Edu joined FC Goa for the fourth season of the Indian Super League in 2017.

Born in Rennes, France, Hugo Boumous started his playing at the youth level with Stade Rennais F.C. before moving on to join the youth program at Laval.

It was at Laval that Boumous signed his first professional contract in 2014. Two years on, he Moroccan Botola club Moghreb Tétouan where he caught the eye of Sergio Lobera.

The attacking midfielder has been with FC Goa since joining in February, 201. He played a pivotal role in the Gaurs’ run to the semis in the second half of the season.

Hailing from the city of Imphal in Manipur, Imran Khan is a left-footed winger who has showed immense promise in the fledgling years of his career.

Imran started his professional career with Neroca in 2015. He put in some notable performances for the Manipuri side and was adjudged the Manipuri Player of The Year in the year 2015-16.

In 2017, Imran moved to Fateh Hyderabad where he starred for his side in the I-League 2 nd Division with some mesmerising performances down the flanks. His dribbling accompanied by excellent technique helped him put teams to the sword which included FC Goa.

His notable run of games greatly impressed the FC Goa management who signed him up in the summer of 2018.

Jackichand Singh started his professional career with Royal Wahingdoh in 2009 where he soon became a star. The talented winger helped the side from Manipur gain real relevance in the Indian footballing circles before helping them finally gain promotion in 2014.

Fondly called ‘Jacki’ the fleet-footed Manipuri took the I-League by storm the following year, helping Wahingdoh to a 3 rd place finish. He was also adjudged as the Player of The Season in the league.

In the years to come, the 26-year-old has gone on to become a regular in the Indian national team.

The Indian Super League saw him represent FC Pune City, Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters before he signed for FC Goa on a two-year deal in 2018.

A Goa native, Lenny Rodrigues started off his career with Churchill Brothers. The central midfielder showed immense promise in his early days and helped the club win two I-League titles before moving to Pune FC in one of the biggest contracts given to an Indian player at that point of time.

In 2014, the 31-year-old was drafted by FC Pune City in the Indian Super League draft with their first pick. Lenny played three seasons in the ISL with the Stallions with intermittent loans to Dempo, Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC.

The versatile midfielder has been a vital cog wherever he has played. He helped Mohun Bagan win the Federation Cup in 2016 and then won it again next season with Bengaluru FC.

The Indian international made his move to Bengaluru permanent in 2017, helping them reach the final of the Indian Super League and win the Super Cup.

Growing from Dempo Sports Club's youth set-up and learning his trade at local club Clube Atletico de Parra, Mandar broke into Dempo's senior team in 2013 and in the subsequent year at FC Goa.

The youngster captained the Goa-India squad at the 2014 Lusofonia games which won the gold medal. At the national level, he has represented the India U-23 side.

Mandar has been a regular at FC Goa since the first year of the Hero Indian Super League. His sharp performances in 2015 helped the club finish as runners-up.

The winger was retained by FC Goa for the fourth season of the ISL and has been handed the handed the captain’s armband for the fifth season of the ISL.

Coming up through the ranks at Espanyol, Miguel Palanca would move to Real Madrid Castilla in 2008 before being promoted to the Real Madrid senior team. The Spaniard made his debut for Real in the Clasico on December 13, 2008, coming on in place of Wesley Sneijder.

In the years to come, the versatile winger would go on to represent a number of Spanish clubs that include CD Castellón, Elche CF and CD Numancia. The veteran also brings with him the experience of playing in the Australin A-League with Adelaide United.

Palanca was with Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta before joining FC Goa

Pratesh Shirodkar was born in Calangute, Goa and started his football career at the famed Sesa Football Academy. His ability was evident at a young age and it wasn’t long before the midfielder was offered a contract with I-league side, Sporting Clube de Goa in 2012.

Playing as a central midfielder, Pratesh scored five league goals for the club, in 73 appearances. His tenacity and passion for the sport earned him a contract with Indian Super League side, Mumbai City FC in the second season.

Pratesh signed for FC Goa in the following season of the ISL and played under Brazilian legend Zico. Despite not finding enough playing time in his first season with the club, Pratesh was drafted back into the side in the ISL Draft in 2017.

Princeton Rebello began his footballing years in earnest with Betalbatim Football club at the age of 12. He represented the club at various age groups and helped them GFA U12, U14 (twice), U16 and U18 leagues.

He further went on to have trials with English club, Queens Park Rangers, with whom he trained for three months. He has also trained with Premier League side Watford.

The youngster has also represented Goa at various age groups and was represented India at the Under 15 level.

In 2016, Princeton was the youngest registered player in the Goa Pro League but showed maturity beyond his years with his performances after notching up 3 goals and 6 assists in the season.

He has also represented India in the 2017 U18 SAFF Championship – where he scored against Maldives and Bangladesh. Having impressed all and sundry with his performances, he was quickly snapped by FC Goa the same year.

Ferran Corominas, popularly known as Coro is a product of RCD Espanyol’s youth system and spent the majority of his playing years with his youth club. He has appeared in over 200 competitive games for the club, netting 24 times in total, winning the Copa del Rey with them.

Coro has played for various clubs in Spain like Girona, Elche and Mallorca. He helped Elche CF return to the top flight of Spanish football after an absence of 24 years.

The Spaniard holds the record of the highest number of goals scored by an individual in an ISL season after he be bagged 18 in 2017/18/. He has also represented Spain at the U-17, U-19 and U-20 levels.

Liston Colaco is considered as one of the biggest talents to come out of Goa in recent years. The 19- year-old ended up as the highest scorer in the 2016/17 Goa Professional, helping his side to the title.

He was also the top-scorer for the club in the 2016/17 I-League U18 where he bagged 16 goals.

He was in Goa’s team for the 2016/17 Santosh Trophy as they finished runners-up.

The teenager joined FC Goa in 2017 and made his bow for the Gaurs in the 2017/18 season.

Manvir Singh was born and brought up in Punjab and is a youth product of the Minerva Football Academy in the state. In July 2016, Manvir signed for Mohammedan in the Calcutta Football League.

The forward went to win the Santosh Trophy with Bengal in 2017 where he famously scored the winner in the finals against Goa.

His impressive performances earned him a call up to the U-23 national side and subsequently to the first team where he made his debut as a late substitute for striker Jeje Lalpekhluah against Mauritius.

He has been with FC Goa since 2017.