Kolkata: This has possibly been the best season in the club’s history. Odisha FC Last season he did everything in his power to achieve great things, but he never managed to get a trophy.
Under a proven head coach on the Indian coast sergio loberaThe club started the 2023–24 season as runners-up Super Cup At home, went to the semi-finals Indian Super League (ISL) for the first time and lost to Australia’s Central Coast Mariners – the eventual winners – in 2023–24 AFC Cup Inter-Zonal Semifinal Playoff.
Building on these remarkable achievements, the club has already done well to retain its core squad besides securing the services of an experienced Spanish coach. And now the Juggernauts are set to play under a coach who has an impressive track record with his former clubs FC Goa and. Mumbai City FCLobera won the 2019 Super Cup and the ISL 2019–20 League Winners Shield with Goa, before achieving the double feat of winning the 2020–21 ISL Trophy and League Winners Shield with the Islanders.
Winning the silverware with the Kalinga Warriors would certainly equal his unmatched exploits as an ISL manager but Lobera said he couldn’t ask for more from his pupils, who had a “miraculous” last season.
“Last season was fantastic, a miraculous season, but that is in the past, our focus is on the future now. Honestly, I can’t ask for more from my boys, they did a fantastic job last season. We didn’t win any trophy but achieved great success for the club. We played in every possible tournament, unfortunately lost the Super Cup final, reached the ISL semi-finals and then reached the AFC semi-final playoffs – it’s fantastic, probably the best season for the club combining all the tournaments we played in,” Lobera told The Times of India from Bhubaneswar ahead of the first match of the ISL season. chennaiyin fc At home on Saturday.
Happy to be in charge of Odisha FC for the second consecutive season, Lobera hopes to add more to the trophy cabinet of the club, which now has only the 2023 Super Cup. The former La Masia coach said, “This is the first time in Odisha’s history that the same coach is starting a second consecutive season. It is good to remain with a club because when you start the first season you start from zero. But now I have a group of players who understand my philosophy or what I want as a coach. We have a base to work from last season and it definitely helps a coach in the second season. We are hopeful to build on that performance from last season.”
Lobera also looked confident about his pre-season, where the reserve team managed by the assistant coaches crashed out of the group stage of the Durand Cup and the first team under Lobera’s guidance lost in the final of the Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy to FC Goa in a penalty shoot-out.
“I always believe the best part of any season is the pre-season. The first team didn’t play the Durand Cup so the young players got some valuable match-time there and we lost the final in Goa (Bandodkar Trophy) on penalties but we scored some good goals, we beat good clubs like Australia (Brisbane Roar) and Argentina (CSD Defensa y Justicia). (Hugo) Boumous scored a couple of goals against Brisbane Roar which will give us confidence now going into the ISL,” said Lobera, who assisted Tito Vilanova as Barcelona manager in 2012.
With the average age of the team being 26.5 years, Odisha will have a mix of experienced foreigners as well as the youthful exuberance of the Indians, eight of whom are Under-22 and several 23, 24-year-old players. In the goalkeeping department, Odisha have secured the services of their former goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh, who will provide a solid backup to captain and first-choice goalkeeper Amrinder Singh as well as Anuj Kumar and 21-year-old Neeraj Kumar.
“I always like to give young players a chance to come into the first team. We have eight under-22 players right now and many are 24-25-26 years old. I don’t think there are many clubs in the ISL who can say that. The right mix of youth and experience is always helpful to achieve success at any level, but I feel youngsters should not be pressured. They need to be well prepared before coming into the first team, otherwise if someone rushes it can ruin his game. We should take good care of the young players and be patient with them,” Lobera explained.
“Ami (Ranawade) was not getting matches earlier, he played very well for us and now he is in the national team. Puiteya (Lalthanga Khawlring) also did very well last season and now he is in the national team. Apart from preparing young players for the club, we are also preparing them for the Indian team and helping in the development of Indian football gives me great pleasure. You need good Indian players in your team to win trophies these days. Earlier when you had 6 foreigners in your team it was possible, but now with 4 foreigners (in the playing XI) it is not possible to win trophies with good foreigners alone,” the Spaniard said.
However, when asked about giving Indian players a chance compared to big foreign names in key positions like centre-back, central midfield or centre forward, Lobera pointed to his obligations as a club coach.
“Look, as a head coach of a club my priority is to win matches and trophies for the club. So, if I have Roy Krishna or Diego Mauricio and I feel he can give me the best possible result, I will field him as a centre forward rather than an Indian player. Rahim Ali and Isaac (Vanlalruatfela) are very good players and both can play as wingers or No. 9. We will see what the situation demands and field them accordingly.”
Despite being satisfied with his squad, Lobera will miss one thing this season. And that is the local connection. Shubham Sarangi was the last and only Odia player in the squad for four seasons until 2023, but now that he has joined Jamshedpur FC ahead of this season, defender Tankadhar Bagh is the only local player in the first-team squad but he is yet to get a chance to play a match in the league.
“Local players are very important for any club. I always feel that local players are naturally more attached to the club than outsiders, so it’s always good to have great local players. When supporters come to the stadium, they want to see some local players playing, it gives them a natural connection. As the first team coach, I don’t know what the club’s situation is with local players at the academy or junior level, but it will be good to have some local players in the squad. Tankhadhar is developing as a player and we will see how he progresses during the season to assess his chances of getting into the playing XI,” Lobera said.
With all bases covered, Lobera’s boys will be eager to create history this season and the Spaniard will hope to add another silverware to his collection with his third club on Indian shores.
Under a proven head coach on the Indian coast sergio loberaThe club started the 2023–24 season as runners-up Super Cup At home, went to the semi-finals Indian Super League (ISL) for the first time and lost to Australia’s Central Coast Mariners – the eventual winners – in 2023–24 AFC Cup Inter-Zonal Semifinal Playoff.
Building on these remarkable achievements, the club has already done well to retain its core squad besides securing the services of an experienced Spanish coach. And now the Juggernauts are set to play under a coach who has an impressive track record with his former clubs FC Goa and. Mumbai City FCLobera won the 2019 Super Cup and the ISL 2019–20 League Winners Shield with Goa, before achieving the double feat of winning the 2020–21 ISL Trophy and League Winners Shield with the Islanders.
Winning the silverware with the Kalinga Warriors would certainly equal his unmatched exploits as an ISL manager but Lobera said he couldn’t ask for more from his pupils, who had a “miraculous” last season.
“Last season was fantastic, a miraculous season, but that is in the past, our focus is on the future now. Honestly, I can’t ask for more from my boys, they did a fantastic job last season. We didn’t win any trophy but achieved great success for the club. We played in every possible tournament, unfortunately lost the Super Cup final, reached the ISL semi-finals and then reached the AFC semi-final playoffs – it’s fantastic, probably the best season for the club combining all the tournaments we played in,” Lobera told The Times of India from Bhubaneswar ahead of the first match of the ISL season. chennaiyin fc At home on Saturday.
Happy to be in charge of Odisha FC for the second consecutive season, Lobera hopes to add more to the trophy cabinet of the club, which now has only the 2023 Super Cup. The former La Masia coach said, “This is the first time in Odisha’s history that the same coach is starting a second consecutive season. It is good to remain with a club because when you start the first season you start from zero. But now I have a group of players who understand my philosophy or what I want as a coach. We have a base to work from last season and it definitely helps a coach in the second season. We are hopeful to build on that performance from last season.”
Lobera also looked confident about his pre-season, where the reserve team managed by the assistant coaches crashed out of the group stage of the Durand Cup and the first team under Lobera’s guidance lost in the final of the Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy to FC Goa in a penalty shoot-out.
“I always believe the best part of any season is the pre-season. The first team didn’t play the Durand Cup so the young players got some valuable match-time there and we lost the final in Goa (Bandodkar Trophy) on penalties but we scored some good goals, we beat good clubs like Australia (Brisbane Roar) and Argentina (CSD Defensa y Justicia). (Hugo) Boumous scored a couple of goals against Brisbane Roar which will give us confidence now going into the ISL,” said Lobera, who assisted Tito Vilanova as Barcelona manager in 2012.
With the average age of the team being 26.5 years, Odisha will have a mix of experienced foreigners as well as the youthful exuberance of the Indians, eight of whom are Under-22 and several 23, 24-year-old players. In the goalkeeping department, Odisha have secured the services of their former goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh, who will provide a solid backup to captain and first-choice goalkeeper Amrinder Singh as well as Anuj Kumar and 21-year-old Neeraj Kumar.
“I always like to give young players a chance to come into the first team. We have eight under-22 players right now and many are 24-25-26 years old. I don’t think there are many clubs in the ISL who can say that. The right mix of youth and experience is always helpful to achieve success at any level, but I feel youngsters should not be pressured. They need to be well prepared before coming into the first team, otherwise if someone rushes it can ruin his game. We should take good care of the young players and be patient with them,” Lobera explained.
“Ami (Ranawade) was not getting matches earlier, he played very well for us and now he is in the national team. Puiteya (Lalthanga Khawlring) also did very well last season and now he is in the national team. Apart from preparing young players for the club, we are also preparing them for the Indian team and helping in the development of Indian football gives me great pleasure. You need good Indian players in your team to win trophies these days. Earlier when you had 6 foreigners in your team it was possible, but now with 4 foreigners (in the playing XI) it is not possible to win trophies with good foreigners alone,” the Spaniard said.
However, when asked about giving Indian players a chance compared to big foreign names in key positions like centre-back, central midfield or centre forward, Lobera pointed to his obligations as a club coach.
“Look, as a head coach of a club my priority is to win matches and trophies for the club. So, if I have Roy Krishna or Diego Mauricio and I feel he can give me the best possible result, I will field him as a centre forward rather than an Indian player. Rahim Ali and Isaac (Vanlalruatfela) are very good players and both can play as wingers or No. 9. We will see what the situation demands and field them accordingly.”
Despite being satisfied with his squad, Lobera will miss one thing this season. And that is the local connection. Shubham Sarangi was the last and only Odia player in the squad for four seasons until 2023, but now that he has joined Jamshedpur FC ahead of this season, defender Tankadhar Bagh is the only local player in the first-team squad but he is yet to get a chance to play a match in the league.
“Local players are very important for any club. I always feel that local players are naturally more attached to the club than outsiders, so it’s always good to have great local players. When supporters come to the stadium, they want to see some local players playing, it gives them a natural connection. As the first team coach, I don’t know what the club’s situation is with local players at the academy or junior level, but it will be good to have some local players in the squad. Tankhadhar is developing as a player and we will see how he progresses during the season to assess his chances of getting into the playing XI,” Lobera said.
With all bases covered, Lobera’s boys will be eager to create history this season and the Spaniard will hope to add another silverware to his collection with his third club on Indian shores.
