Spanish tiki-taka flavour will be at the forefront in the upcoming seventh edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) as seven of the 10 clubs have coaches from the Iberian peninsula at the helm of affairs.
MARGAO
Nine teams have finalised their coaches for the upcoming season which will be held in Goa from November 22. The State will host matches at three different venues without spectators -- at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim, and Tilak Maidan Stadium, Vasco.
The ISL, whose earlier editions were played on home and away basis, was forced to be held in one single State on account of the coronavirus pandemic which has spread throughout the world, including India.
Antonio Lopez Habas (ATK Mohun Bagan), Kibu Vicuna (Kerala Blasters), Carles Cuadrat (Bengaluru FC), Sergio Lobera (Mumbai City FC), Albert Roca (Hyderabad FC), Juan Ferrando (FC Goa) and NorthEast United FC (Gerard Nus) are the Spaniards who will carry forward the tiki-taka brand of football in Indian stadia.
The odd ones are Owen Coyle of Jamshedpur FC, who hails from Scotland while Stuart Baxter of Odisha FC is from South Afrca. The other club - Chennaiyin FC is yet to sign any coach.
When the ISL league kicked in there were a number of Brazilian coaches and players but the influence of players from the South American country is slowly and steadily decreasing with Spaniards stamping their authority both in terms of players and coaches.
Last season too, Spanish coaches dominated in terms of numbers with Habas (ATK), Cuadrat (Bengaluru FC), Jorge Costa (Mumbai City FC), Josep Gombau (Odisha FC), Antonio Iriondo (Jamshedpur FC), and Lobera (FC Goa) guiding the fortunes of their respective teams.
Eelco Schattorie from the Netherlands (Kerala Blasters), Phil Brown from England (Hyderabad FC), Owen Coyle from Scotland (Chennaiyin) and Robert Jarni from Croatia (North East) were the other non-Spaniards in the ISL coaching group.
FC Goa is one club which has tried to maintain the continuity of the Spanish brand of football by appointing a Spaniard Ferrando in place of the fired Lobera. Mumbai City FC has also appointed Lobera, who replaces his compatriot Costa.
ATK are the defending champions. They are the most successful team of this competition with three title wins in 2014, 2016, and 2019-20 editions respectively.
The grand finale of the 2019-20 season was also played behind closed doors at Fatorda Stadium in March this year due to the global pandemic wherein ATK beat Chennaiyin FC 3-1 to win their record third title.
