I’ve always admired FC Goa, they have one of the best cultures and fans – Udanta Singh

FC Goa’s new recruit Udanta Singh has revealed he always admired the club and feels they have one of the best cultures and fans. Singh played for nine seasons with Bengaluru FC and he will begin a new chapter in his career with the Gaurs.

The 27-year-old has all the experience under his belt and he will look to be at his best for FC Goa. The winger played 17 matches for the Blues in the previous season of the ISL, providing two assists.

Singh was at his absolute best in the 2018-19 season, scoring five goals and providing three assists in 19 matches he played, and thus played an instrumental role in taking Bengaluru FC to glory in the ISL.

“I’ve always admired FC Goa. The club has one of the best football cultures and the most passionate fans in the company. Bengaluru FC became my home for nine years, but I always knew that if I had to be elsewhere at any point in time, it would be FC Goa – and I finally got the chance this summer,” Singh said in an exclusive interview with the indiansuperleague.com.

Udanta Singh will play under the tutelage of Manuel Marquez, who played a key role in the success of his previous club Hyderabad FC over the last couple of years.

“Everyone knows what he (Marquez) has done in the past three seasons in the ISL, and the extent of his contributions to Indian football,” he revealed.

“Like many of the great coaches I’ve played under, coach Manolo communicates well with us, and working with him has been a wonderful experience so far. I feel honoured to be given this great opportunity to work with him at FC Goa and learn as much as I can.”

The veteran added that it won’t be a huge challenge for him to get used to FC Goa’s style of play in the ISL as he has followed the same strategy in his career.

“In modern football, most teams like to keep the ball and play with it, to attack and score goals. While FC Goa has a distinct style of doing this, the basic premises hence remain similar when compared to what I’ve experienced so far with my previous club and the national team,” Singh explained.

“Hence, I feel that it will not be much of a challenge for me to adapt to the conditions here. Moreover, as a professional footballer, I’ve been trusted by the club to do well, which is why I was signed. I will work as hard as I can to repay this trust placed on me by the Coach and the management, and I hope to help FC Goa score goals and win matches whenever we take to the pitch,” he added.

FC Goa will begin their ISL 2023-24 campaign against Hyderabad FC at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad on 22nd September.