A new era is set to begin at Odisha FC as the Indian Super League (ISL) club is set to appoint former Indian Super League League Shield winner and Playoffs winning coach Sergio Lobera as the club's head coach for the upcoming season of the Indian top-tier football league.
Sergio Lobera is one of the most well known name in the Indian football fraternity. The Spanish coach who has previously coached FC Goa and Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League (ISL), is a 2 time League Shield Winner with FC Goa and Mumbai City FC and has also won the ISL Trophy with the latter club.
Sergio Lobera has been managing in the Chinese 2nd division for the last one year. Lobera, who last managed City Football Group owned Mumbai City FC in India, impressed everyone with his performance and was transferred to become the new head coach of the Sichuan Jiuniu, another City Football Group owned club.
However, with all the bio-bubble rule still in place in China and the language barrier, Lobera was not happy with his time in China and wanted to move out of the country.
Odisha FC set to appoint ISL winning coach Sergio Lobera as Head Coach
Lobera received interest from several Indian Super League (ISL) club this season, particularly East Bengal FC were very much interested in getting his service. Other than East Bengal, Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC were other teams who also wanted his service.
Reports in Bengali media emerged that the Spanish tactician had agreed to join East Bengal Club. However, according to latest report by IFTWC, Odisha FC has managed to get the signature on the dotted line to have the Spaniard as their head coach for next season.
According to IFTWC, "Odisha FC has completed the signing of Sergio Lobera as their new head-coach." In the same report, a source close to the development stated that East Bengal Club were never leading the race to sign Lobera despite rumours that Lobera had agreed to join the Red and Gold brigade from Kolkata, "East Bengal was never in advanced discussions with Lobera, while Odisha FC where always ahead in the pursuit of the Spaniard’s appointment," the statement reads.
Sergio Lobera is an accomplished coach in the Indian Super League with a notable history of success. He led FC Goa to the League Winners Shield in the 2019-2020 season. Despite his impressive achievements, Lobera left FC Goa in 2020 and subsequently joined Mumbai City FC, which is owned by the City Football Group (CFG).
During his first season with Mumbai City FC, Sergio Lobera achieved remarkable success. He guided the team to their maiden silverware in the form of the League Winners Shield, and followed it up by winning the Playoffs trophy. As a result, he became the first manager in the league's history to accomplish the prestigious league double.
After his success in India, he went to China and managed to Sichuan Jiuniu for a season and helped them to finish 7th. However, he parted ways with the club due to many reasons.
As for Odisha FC, it's a double delight for the Odisha fans as Odisha FC booked their ticket for the Hero Super Cup 2023 Final vs Bengaluru FC, and also confirmation that one of the most sought after name will be joining their team for the next season.
This season, Odisha finished 6th in the points table and lost to ATK Mohun Bagan in the playoffs, so couldn't further progress into the semi-finals stage of the Indian Super League (ISL) Playoffs 2023. Despite the success, due to internal reasons, the club decided to part ways with coach Joseph Gombau even before the Super Cup campaign had begun.
0 Comments