PANAJI: Odisha FC have completed the signing of Spanish coach Sergio Lobera, who won a historic double with Mumbai City FC in 2020-21 and the Indian Super League (ISL) winners’ shield with FC Goa.
The hugely-successful coach spent a year in China with League One side Sichuan Jiuniu, but when it became clear that he wanted to break ties with the City Football Group (CFG) and return to India, several clubs dialled his number.
East Bengal, in fact, thought they had his word, while other clubs persisted in the hope of securing his prized signature. In the end, it was Odisha who convinced him with a ‘project’ that went beyond the first team.
“When we reached out to him, there was uncertainty whether he would even consider Odisha, but once we started speaking and presented our project, he knew what we aim to achieve,” Odisha president Raj Athwal told TOI on Wednesday.
“I know a lot of people use the term ‘project’ loosely, but at Odisha, we want to truly build a sustainable club. I’ve got to praise (general manager) Abhik (Chatterjee) for making more of an effort, rather than just wait for things to happen. I’ve got to praise him for taking the initiative to reach out to him.”
(AI image)
During the four years that he spent here, Lobera developed a reputation of someone who made his teams play attractive football and also win trophies.
Like Athwal pointed out, “Sergio made average players good and good players excellent."
