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Indian Super League franchise FC Goa today announced the signing of Sergio Lobera Rodriguez as the new head coach. The Spaniard put pen to paper on a two-year deal and will join the club in the first week of July. Lobera, who has previously coached LaLiga side UD Las Palmas and Moghreb Tetouan in Morocco amongst others was also part of the late Tito Vilanova’s backroom staff during his tenure as the Head Coach of FC Barcelona.
FC Goa president Akshay Tandon said, “After a thorough and exhaustive process where the best part of 60 names were considered for the job, we are pleased to hand over the reins of the first team to Sergio. We have always maintained that we are looking for a coach who will be able to help us achieve our vision for Goan football and Sergio fits that profile perfectly. We are excited by the ambition he has shown and his enthusiasm in getting to grips with the Indian game.”
“Sergio comes with a proven track record of promoting young talent. And with the club orienting itself towards the same goal as well, Sergio was the obvious candidate. After the disappointment of last season, we were keen to bring some fresh ideas into the club while continuing to display an attacking brand of football. Having had the opportunity to go through his footballing philosophy and his style of work, we are confident in his ability to evolve the club to the next level. With Sergio’s ambition and drive to succeed being complimented by Derrick’s know how and experience of the Indian game, we are ideally placed to achieve the desired results in the upcoming season of the ISL,” Akshay Tandon added.
40 year old Zaragosa-born Sergio Lobera Rodriguez started off coaching as a teenager with Dosa Salesians and UFB Jàbac Terrassa before he was signed by the FC Barcelona youth set-up to coach at the Catalan giants as far as the Barca ‘C’ Team.
Thereafter he was sports director of Terrassa FC but had to coach them for seven games towards the end of the season after sacking the coach. He then went on to coach CD San Roque de Lepe and AD Ceuta before returning to FC Barcelona in 2012 as assistant manager of Tito Vilanova, but he left only a month later to become the head coach of Segunda División side UD Las Palmas.
After his time at home in Spain, Sergio Lobera Rodriguez joined Moroccan side Moghreb Tétouan and coached them until recently. Now he makes the switch to Goa and ISL, where he will have to prove himself once more.
Sergio Lobera Rodriguez said, “I’m delighted to join FC Goa and play my part in a very exciting vision. I see FC Goa as the ideal step in my career and hope to achieve the best results for the club. The passion for football in Goa is well documented and I’m keen to ensure that we play an attacking brand of football that the people of Goa can be proud of. The owners are keen to ensure that Goan football does not take a backseat in the exciting future of Indian football and having had a chance to visit Goa and observe the facilities and the infrastructure in close quarters, I’m convinced that the club is ideally placed to compete in not just the ISL but across the youth level as well. Having seen the plans in place for the entire youth set-up and the grassroots program, I’m keen to play my part in helping the club work towards a unified playing philosophy, which will extend beyond the realms of the club to all the young footballers in Goa who are keen to take up the game.”
