Indian Super League: FC Goa Name Sergio Lobera As Zico Replacement

Indian Super League side FC Goa on Monday appointed Sergio Lobera as their new head coach on a two-year deal. The Spaniard will replace Brazilian legend Zico Goa's new coach and will take over the reins of the first team from the first week of July. Lobera, who has previously coached UD Las Palmas and Moghreb Tetouan in Morocco was also part of the late Tito Vilanova's backroom staff during his tenure as the head coach of FC Barcelona.

"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," Lobera said in the club's press release.

In 2012, Lobera was briefly an assistant to the late Tito Vilanova at Spanish giants Barcelona before leaving to take charge of Las Palmas.

Zico was head coach of Goa for the ISL's first three seasons before leaving at the end of the last campaign.

The ISL is a franchise-based tournament whose club owners are largely Bollywood film stars and cricketers. The season takes place towards the end of the year and lasts around three months.

(With AFP Inputs)