FC Goa announced Juan Ferrando as the new coach to
take over Sergio Lobera and the new Spanish boss will need to start by getting
to together a team capable of riding on the pride created by other Indian teams
in the Asian Football Council (AFC) Champions League.
FC Goa finished on top of the Indian Super League (ISL)
after the unexplained exit of Sergio and Juan’s first task will be
to assemble a team together with only two foreign players having been retained –
Hugo Boumous and Edu Bedia.
With the world battling an epidemic and there being
no certainty on when the Indian Super League (ISL) or any sport is primed to
start, Juan has time on his shoulders. Apart from signing foreign players, FC
Goa will need to find good Indian players as the AFC Champions League permits only four foreign players.
Brandon Fernandes and Lenny Rodrigues are two good
players FC Goa has, having lost Jackichand who was one of their best Indian
signings last season. Jacki was a constant menacing threat on the flanks.
Ferrando , according to an FC Goa release, began
working as a football coach at the age of 18.
“I am so
incredibly excited to become part of the FC Goa family. I have been greatly
impressed by the Club's emphasis on their vision and style of play and I would
like to thank the club for giving me this opportunity.
“I have heard a lot about Goa's passion for
football. Together, with support from all the fans, we hope to play good football,
and do our best to bring success to the club,” are quotes attributed
to the coach by the club.
The
39-year-old began his career with the academy at RCD Espanyol before moving to
Barcelona B for his Practicum. He then coached the likes of FC
RICOH Premià, Terrassa CF and CE Hospitalet before moving to Malaga, to become
the coach of the youth team.
Taking
charge of FC Sheriff in Moldova in 2013, he led the team to a win in the Super
Cup. Under his tutelage, the club reached the third round of the UEFA Champions
League qualifiers. In the Europa League the same season, they eventually
finished 2 points shy of qualifying to the knockout stage from a group that
contained Tottenham and Anzhi Makhachkala.
He
then went on to take charge of Spanish sides CyD Leonesa and Linares before
moving to Greece in 2017 to take charge of the newly formed Volos FC in the
Third Division. There, under his command, the club gained two promotions in as
many seasons and has ever since been playing in the Greek Super League.
A UEFA Pro License holder,
Ferrando was awarded the award for ‘Best Coach’ in 2017/18 by the Greek
Football Association for his work at Volos, concludes the FC Goa release.
FC Goa has not been able
to retain their star striker Ferran Corominas (Coro) who lit up the ISL with
his impressive statistics in his three years with the club and have not managed
to hold on to Mourtada Fall and Carlos Pena- the two pillars of their defense-
with the latter hanging up his boots.
Ahmed Jahouh , according
to reliable sources , was looking for a two year contract or an increment and
his inability to convince his team has left him looking for fresher pastures.
Though he scored one goal in his time with FC Goa, he was the mainstay of the
team last season when it made its second final appearance – the first under the
new management.
Establishing a predictable
strike force and a reliable defense will be the main priorities of the new
coach Juan whose other focus will be to fit in the shoes left by Sergio who had
developed a good rapport with the fans through his style of play and most
importantly results.
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