In a parallel world, Kerala Blasters have a Spanish international...
Kerala Blasters' new midfield signing Vicente Gomez has the experience of playing against some of the best teams in the top tier of Spanish football.
The Huracan youth product started his professional career in 2007 and later moved to Las Palmas. He went on to represent Las Palmas C team, earned a seat in their first team in 2010 and continued to play there for eight seasons in a row. Gomez then joined Deportivo in 2018. In total, he has spent three seasons in La Liga, facing off against the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
One of Las Palmas' famous results during Gomez's time at the club on the evening of March 1, 2017. In the 25th game week of La Liga that season, Vicenta Gomez played the full 90 minutes as his club held Real Madrid 3-3 at the Santiago Bernabeu. They were two goals up at the hour mark but Cristiano Ronaldo's brace in the last 10 minutes meant spoils had to be shared.
During an interaction with Goal , Gomez revealed how his performances in La Liga nearly got him a ticket to the Span national team.
"My best memories from Laliga are having played and making the best teams suffer by playing 'tiki-taka' with Las Palmas.
"Also, the 3-3 at the Bernabeu stadium against Real Madrid was a memorable match. I will also not forget that Vicente del Bosque and Lopetegui spoke highly of me and I almost got selected to the national team."
The midfielder is currently in Goa, undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine having arrived from Spain last week. The former Deportivo man is one of the many Spaniards set to take the field in the seventh season of Indian Super League (ISL). Gomez is aware of who he will be up against and already has set his eyes of facing off against Mumbai City.
It must be noted that Gomez knows Mumbai head coach Sergio Lobera, having played under him for two years while at Las Palmas.
"I´m looking forward to playing against Mumbai City because I know Sergio Lobera and his staff. They are going to be a tough opponent, but I’m sure, we’ll put in our best fight on the pitch.
"I am also looking forward to playing against Tiri because he is a player who has become famous in India and is one of the best defenders in the ISL."