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Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan announced Spanish tactician Jose Antonio 'Kibu' Vicuna as their head coach for the upcoming season. The Mariners had one of their worst seasons in recent years, having finished at the fifth position. Shankarlal Chakraborty resigned as the head coach of the team midway through the season.
I-League winning manager Khalid Jamil succeeded him, but he did not have much luck since he was in charge of the squad. Finally, the management hired the Spaniard, to revive the lost glory of the century-old club. Vicuna is set to join the Kolkata-based club in the last week if June 2019.
Arch-rivals East Bengal is already under Spanish influence having recruited head coach Alejandro Menendez Perez ahead of the last season. Perez also brought in his countrymen Borja Gomez Perez, Jaime Santos Colado and Toni Dovalen to ease the implementation of his playing style. Is Mohun Bagan also heading in a similar direction?
Most of East Bengal’s signings have been completed after Quess Corp. Pvt Ltd started investing in their operations. Appointment of Kibu Vicuna may be a hint that Mohun Bagan is close in roping an investor ahead of the next season.
But, for the time being, let us have a look at the 5 things you need to know about Mohun Bagan's new head coach Kibu Vicuna:
#5 UEFA Pro-licence holder
Vicuna is a UEFA Pro Licence holder and was in charge of Polish first division side Wisla Plock which plays in the ‘Ekstraklasa’ league. He was in the head coach of the team for 175 days, but he did not have a memorable outing with the side.
Apart from this stint, he was the head coach at Lithuanian club FK Trakai. Although he hasn’t been a very successful manager, his experience will be valuable in India.
#4 Titles and Accolades
Apart from working in various clubs, he has earned accolades which include professional coaching titles from Spanish Football Federation like Professor of tactics and Master of Physical preparations. He started coaching at the age of 16, training children of his locality.
Having played for Navarra University team, he took up coaching seriously at the age of 25 after he completed his graduation. Vicuna completed his UEFA Pro Licence in 2002. Thereafter, he worked as the assistant coach of Legia Warsaw, Lubin Basin, Osasuna, Lech Poznan, and Slask Wroclaw.
#3 Youth team coach for Spanish side CA Osasuna
At the beginning of his career, he was in charge of youth teams of the Spanish side CA Osasuna. It is also learnt that Vicuna worked with players like Raul Garcia, Nacho Monreal, Cesar Azpilicueta and Javi Martinez. They all play for top European clubs currently.
#2 Managerial landmark
The main highlight of his managerial career was when Vicuna was a part of the coaching staff at Legia Warsaw which won the Polish Cup in 2012-13. Not only that, he was the assistant manager of the side when they lost in the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League following which they featured in the Europa League.
#1 Polish Super Cup win
More recently, he won the Polish Super Cup in 2015-16 as a part of the coaching staff of Lech Poznan. Vicuna has worked very closely as an assistant coach with Jan Urban, who is an experienced Polish coach who represented Poland during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
He first big assignment for Mohun Bagan will be the Calcutta Football League. It will be a huge challenge for the manager to guide his players in alien conditions.
