Keenan took pay-cut to play for FC Goa

PANAJI: Had FC Goa not been compelled to sign more Goan players, hero of the last game, Keenan Almeida, would have been watching the Indian Super League (ISL) on television.
Having missed out on the first edition of ISL because his club, Sporting Clube de Goa, did not release players, Keenan had to take the domestic draft route. He was among 114 players at the domestic draft but at the end of it all, he was left unsold as no franchise showed interest in signing him.
Fortunately for the defender, FC Goa came calling to sign him as part of their additional three player quota, although the Goan franchise had players like Nicolau Colaco and Debabrata Roy who could play in the right-back position.
Keenan, though, had to make sacrifices. He took a pay-cut to play for FC Goa and lowered his price from Rs 15 lakh at the domestic draft to Rs 8 lakh that FC Goa eventually offered.
Once the ISL concludes in December, Keenan, 23, will join Salgaocar FC with whom he has already signed a contract for the rest of the season.
“My fingers were crossed,” said Keenan when reminded of his situation after the domestic draft when he was left without a franchise.
“I was waiting for something to happen. ISL was doubtful but with the I-League, I had a club. I was happy when FC Goa approached me and signed me up on the additional quota,” said Keenan, who scored the equalizer against Atletico de Kolkata.
Chief coach Zico is impressed with Keenan’s contribution toward his side and praised the defender’s versatility in scoring the goal.
“He is a very good player and I know what he is able to do. I always tell him, ‘don’t go over what we can do, do what you can do’ and he is doing very well in helping the team out in the defensive area which is the first function of the defenders,” said Zico.
“He has been doing very well physically and technically, like supporting Romeo in occupying spaces. Normally Denson is there but he was off. Keenan was there and he got the rebound to score. I am happy with him,” he added.