Robert Pirès scored his first goal in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) from the penalty spot in FC Goa’s 4-1 thumping of Delhi Dynamos FC on Thursday. Pirès, who hadn’t scored in an official match for the past three years, was ecstatic after finding the net but was happier that his team emerged victorious in the end. Speaking to indiansuperleague.com, the Arsenal legend expressed his delight and also gave credit to his head coach’s invaluable experience and composure.

“I feel very good. I feel very happy for my teammates, for FC Goa and all the fans. It was very important to win in Delhi. Now we have six games left and everything is perfect for the moment,” said Pirès after the match.

FC Goa and Delhi Dynamos were at the bottom two spots in the ISL standings before their encounter. The result was unexpected to many but Pirès seemed pretty optimistic after their elevation to the seventh spot. “The result is very good for my team; we won and we scored four goals. In football, everything is possible and now everything is possible for FC Goa,” he averred.

Including their win today, FC Goa have only recorded two wins in the ISL so far. And both have come against the same opposition, Delhi Dynamos! “I know that it’s going to be very difficult for Delhi to reach the semi-finals. Of course, FC Goa is a very good team with good players, experience and of course the manager knows football perfectly. So it’s very important for the Indian players to learn at the highest level,” commented the Frenchman.

Talking about Zico, his coach who has represented Brazil in three consecutive World Cup tournaments, Pirès said, “He’s a legend in Brazil. He’s scored many goals and he wants to transform Indian football and I think tonight, he was perfect.”

Goa have been the most attacking team in terms of pure statistics. But their finishing has let them down on numerous occasions but that seems to have changed looking at their win against Delhi. Signing off, the ‘invincible’ remarked on his team’s style of play and said, “I think it’s mixed. Sometimes, you have to wait back in defence and sometimes, you have good counter attacks. We try to develop football and we have good players. Not only the Brazilians, the French or the Portuguese. We have a mix of players and the Indian players learn very well. To me, I think the most important thing is the mix that we have.”