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What's the story?
After this morning's announcement, that Mumbai City FC have parted ways with Alexandre Guimaraes, the Islanders have found themselves a new head coach. Former Portugal international Jorge Costa has signed to be the coach of Mumbai City FC for the 2018/19 Indian Super League season.
In case you didn't know...
Costa made his name playing as Center back for Portuguese side Porto. He appeared over two hundred and fifty times for the Dragons over a course of fifteen long years. The defender also went on several loans during this fifteen-year phase, most notably to English side Charlton Athletic. He finished his playing career at Belgian club Standard Liege immediately after which he went into coaching.
The Portuguese Center back also appeared fifty times for the national side during which he played in both the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro.
The heart of the matter
Mumbai City FC announced, via Twitter, that they have found an agreement with Jorge Costa to become their head coach for the upcoming Indian Super League season. This decision came as a direct follow-up to this morning's announcement that Alexandre Guimaraes will no longer be the coach of the Islanders.
The former Portuguese international has a vast experience of managing football clubs. His most notable stints include that of Braga, Pacos Ferreira, and Gabon.
Upon signing for Mumbai City, Costa had this to say:
"I am very excited to be here, at Mumbai City FC. To be trusted with the responsibility of taking Mumbai City to newer heights is a huge honour for me. The management and the owners have great ambitions and are committed to bringing success to the club. I cannot wait to start, meet the players and have a fruitful pre-season. I believe that we have some of the finest Indian talents in our side and I’m excited at the prospect of working with them. I hope to bring entertaining football to the Arena and to the people of Mumbai, and challenge for trophies, giving this city the success it deserves."
Those sentiments were echoed by Club CEO Indranil Das Blah, who was delighted with the appointment:
“We are thrilled to appoint Jorge Costa as the coach of Mumbai City FC for the 2018/19 season of the Indian Super League. We’ve had several meetings with potential candidates but Jorge's professionalism, hunger and philosophy stood out and convinced us that he is the perfect candidate to take this club forward to bigger success. We welcome Jorge to the Mumbai City family and look forward to exciting times ahead.”
What's next?
Costa will be looking to bring Mumbai City back to the highs of their 2016 campaign when they finished at the top of the table during the league stage.
Do you think Jorge Costa was the right choice for the head coach of Mumbai City FC? Do let us know in the comments below.
