Head coaches of all ISL teams 2020-21season
- It's Football Time
- Oct 23, 2020
- 6 min read
#1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Antonio Lopez Habas will be in charge of ATK Mohun Bagan this time around. The 63-year-old has guided ATK to the play-offs in all three seasons he has been in charge - winning two (2014, 2019-20) of the club's three titles. He also had a stint at FC Pune City (now Hyderabad FC) in the ISL when the club finished in the sixth position in 2016. Lopez began coaching from the early 1900s starting with the Atletico de Madrid B team and had his first national team experience with Bolivia as an assistant in 1993. He assumed head coach duties in 1995 and led them to the Copa America runner-up spot in 1997. He coached several Spanish teams such as Valencia and Celta de Vigo and was coaching in South Africa before accepting an offer from India during the inaugural edition of the ISL in 2014. Habas is known for being a pragmatic coach and values organisation in his team foremost. His teams are hard to beat and are very strong at the back.
#2 Bengaluru FC
Carles Cuadrat will continue to be in charge of Bengaluru FC for the third season in a row this time around. Before that, Cuadrat had assisted former Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca for two seasons (2016-2018), both in the I-League and in the Blues' maiden appearance in the 2017-18 ISL season (must be noted Cuadrat left Bengaluru midway during the 2017-18 season before returning). Since assuming the role of head coach, Cuadrat led Bengaluru to their first ISL title in the 2018-19 term but lost in the play-offs last season against eventual champions ATK. After his playing career, Cuadrat first worked as a director at CF Gava Youth Academy for three years before he joined Barcelona in 1998 as a coach and physical trainer at the club's youth sides. From 2009, he was part of Frank Rijkaard's technical staff at Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabia national team and was Roca's assistant at El Salvador national team before coming to India. Cuadrat is known to get his teams to utilise set-pieces and is somewhat of a pragmatic coach who has turned Bengaluru into a defensive force since taking over.
#3 Chennaiyin FC
Csaba Laszlo, Former Uganda and Lithuania national team coach will lead the Marina Machans this time around. The Hungarian coach takes over from Owen Coyle who led the side to the ISL final last season. The 56-year-old coach is highly experienced and has travelled around the world, having been in charge of clubs like Dundee United and Hearts in the Scottish Championship and a number of Hungarian outfits including Ferencvaros. He was last coaching at Romanian outfit Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. Interestingly, Laszlo was also part of the Hungarian national team set up in 2004 where he served as an assistant manager to German legend Lothar Matthaus.
#4 SC East Bengal
Robbie Fowler Liverpool legend and former England international is all set to lead SC East Bengal in their maiden ISL appearance. The 45-year-old, who had last managed A-League side Brisbane Roar FC, had a successful season in Australia. Under the Brit’s tutelage, the club had finished fourth in the league stage with 40 points from 26 matches and made it to the Finals Series of the competition. Fowler's managerial career began when he was appointed player-manager by Thailand’s top division side Muangthong United in the middle of the 2011-12 season where he guided the team to a third-place finish. SC East Bengal will be the third club he would manage.
#5 FC GOA
Juan Ferrando the 39-year-old Spaniard appointed to manage the FC GOA side in the upcoming ISL season. The young Spanish coach began his career as a coach at Spanish club CE Premier in 2009. He later managed the reserves side of club Malaga CF and was also a part of their coaching staff during the 2012-13 season. He was then the assistant coach of Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol who reached the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round for the first time in their history. His last assignment was at Greek club Volos FC. Ferrando managed the club from 2017 to 2020 and took the team from third division to the top tier of Greece. A lot will be expected from Ferrando who belongs to the Catalan school of thought as far as his footballing philosophy goes.
#6 Hyderabad FC - Manuel Marquez Roca
#6 HYDERABAD FC
Manuel Marquez Roca appointed as Hyderabad FC' head coach after Albert Roca, who was set to lead the team, parted ways to join Barcelona as a fitness coach. Marquez coached a number of Spanish sides including RCD Espanyol’s reserves side. During the 2016-17 season, he was appointed as the coach of La Liga side Las Palmas’ reserve team. He was then promoted as the head coach of the main team in the La Liga following their promotion. His first managerial stint outside Spain in 2018 was cut short at Croatian top division club NK Istra 1961 after just one win in seven games which led him to Thailand’s top division side Ratchaburi Mitr Phol FC.
#7 Jamshedpur FC - Owen Coyle Jamshedpur announced Owen Coyle as their new head coach on a two-year deal, making him the club's fourth manager since their inception in 2017. One of Coyle's most notable achievements as a manager was getting Burnley promoted to the Premier League in 2009. He also managed Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League and his last managerial stint before coming to India was with Scottish club Ross County where he spent five months before resigning with the club positioned at the bottom of the league. The 54-year-old enjoyed a brilliant stint with Chennaiyin FC after taking over the reins from John Gregory in December 2019. Coyle helped the Marina Machans to the ISL runners up spot last season after a tumultuous start to their campaign. Coyle's Chennaiyin FC displayed an adventurous brand of football that fully utilised their attacking strengths and often saw them overwhelm the opposition defence. Jamshedpur will hope he can replicate it with them.
#7 Jamshedpur FC
Owen Coyle appointed to Jamshedpur FC as their new head coach on a two-year deal, making him the club's fourth manager since their inception in 2017.
One of Coyle's most notable achievements as a manager was getting Burnley promoted to the Premier League in 2009. He also managed Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League and his last managerial stint before coming to India was with Scottish club Ross County where he spent five months before resigning with the club positioned at the bottom of the league.
The 54-year-old enjoyed a brilliant stint with Chennaiyin FC after taking over the reins from John Gregory in December 2019. Coyle helped the Marina Machans to the ISL runners up spot last season after a tumultuous start to their campaign.
Coyle's Chennaiyin FC displayed an adventurous brand of football that fully utilised their attacking strengths and often saw them overwhelm the opposition defence. Jamshedpur will hope he can replicate it with them.
#8 Kerala Blasters
Kibu Vicuna, who coached Mohun Bagan to an I-League title last time around, will lead Kerala Blasters in the ISL. The Spaniard seemed to have found the elixir to success in Indian football in his very first season, helping Bagan win silverware while playing an attractive brand of football. It is this philosophy that gives importance to the possession of the ball and technical ability of players that Blasters fans will look forward to this season. The 48-year-old started his managerial career as a youth coach at CA Osasuna before he gained experience as an assistant coach at several Polish clubs. The UEFA Pro License holder took charge of Mohun Bagan in the summer of 2019-20 season and led them to their second I-League title (fifth national league title overall).
#9 Mumbai City FC
Sergio Lobera appointed to lead Mumbai City club for the next two seasons. He worked for Barcelona's youth academy between 1999 and 2007 and began his senior managerial career with Terrassa in 2009 and went on to assist late Tito Vilanova at Barcelona's first team for a month before being appointed head coach of Las Palmas in 2012. Before replacing Zico at Goa, Lobera last coached Moroccan Moghreb Tetouan. In the ISL, the Spaniard led the Gaurs to the play-offs in all the three seasons but could not lay his hands on the trophy. He won the 2019 Indian Super Cup and played a huge role in guiding Goa to the top of the table last season to win the maiden ISL League Winners Shield. Lobera is known for incorporating an attractive brand of football that relies on technical players and the use of fast wingers. Though he has been criticised in the past for defensive frailties, Lobera's teams more than make up for it with their firepower in attack. Mumbai, given the quality of players they have recruited, should be a force to be reckoned with under him.
#10 NorthEast United
Gerard Nus Casanova,35-year-old Spaniard is a UEFA Pro License holder will be the Highlanders' boss this season. Nus used to be a member of Liverpool's backroom staff before he got into mainstream coaching. He had stints at Brighton and Melbourne Heart before becoming the assistant coach of the Ghana national team led by Avram Grant. Having worked as the technical director at Rayo Vallecano, he was the manager of Swedish club Eskilstuna during the 2018-19 season.
#11 Odisha FC
Stuart Baxter, former South Africa national team coach will takeover the reins at Odisha FC this season. He is the club's sixth coach (formerly known as Delhi Dynamos) in seven seasons and takes over from Josep Gombau. Th Brit led the England U-19 team between 2002 and 2004. He had a successful stint with South African outfit Kaizer Chiefs and saw a fair amount of success in Sweden as well where he led AIK into the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. The experienced 67-year-old has managed teams in Japan and also led the Finnish national team. Baxter has a reputation for winning silverware with his teams and also led South Africa to the quarterfinals of the 2019 African Cup of Nations.
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