#3 Jose Molina
Trending
Antonio Habas won the ISL in the first season and took Atletico de Kolkata to the semifinal last year. But Kolkata had their bases covered with the appointment of Jose Molina. The Spaniard had won the treble in Hong Kong with Kitchee before the switch to Kolkata.
But Kolkata did not look any different with the change in manager. That was largely down to the fact that they kept the spine of the squad that played under Habas.
Also, Molina’s style has not been too different from what Habas had employed. Kolkata still kept possession as much as possible, they still moved the ball around patiently and were never in a hurry, much like it was in the first two years.
For Molina, the biggest advantage was that the core of the squad was Spanish-speaking, ensuring that he could bed in seamlessly.
That ensured that the side, despite not winning too many games as such, could win the league. Also, Molina’s encouragement of the youngsters in the squad was plain to see. Players like Bidyananda Singh, Abinash Ruidas and Prabir Das played significant parts in Kolkata’s challenge and Molina was to be complimented for putting his faith in those youngsters.
