FC Goa coach Zico hopes to go one better in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League as his players gear up for the first leg of their semi-final against Delhi Dynamos FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Friday. The Gaurs also reached the semi-finals last year but failed to get past eventual champions Atlético de Kolkata. Zico, at the pre-match press conference on Thursday, hoped they will make their first final appearance this season.“I hope we can improve from last year. We reached the semi-finals and lost. This year, I hope we can reach the final and do our best there. I think we fulfilled all the expectations we had. We played good football, played a good game and now we are here,” the Brazilian, whose team topped the league stage with 25 points from 13 matches, told reporters.Between Zico and the final stands his former charge at Fenerbahçe, Roberto Carlos, Delhi Dynamos FC’s marquee player-cum-coach. Talking about Carlos’ coaching performance in the league so far, Zico said: “Everyone as a coach has to start somewhere. He was a fantastic player. He had his chance to work in Turkey [as coach with Sivasspor and Akhisar Belediyespor] and he did a nice job there. Now he is here and he is doing a great job here. I had the pleasure of being his coach and I hope the student doesn’t overcome the master here.”When asked if the Gaurs will be in a slightly better position against Delhi having already played the semi-finals last season, Zico said: “I just think that our players are a little bit more experienced. They will be used to it [having already played the semis last year]. At the same time, it is also a completely different team as we changed 14-15 players [ahead of the season]. Not only us, Delhi are also a completely different team.”The Hero Indian Super League doesn’t have the away-goal rule to decide the winners in case the teams are tied on aggregate over two legs, and Zico was of the opinion that it should be put into practice. “It would be great for football. I hope it can be changed in the future. All around the world, when you play a league like this, there is some advantage for the team scoring in away matches. [I] hope the ISL can put some thinking into that in the future,” he said.
