ISL round-up: Delhi Dynamos go for former La Liga manager, Bengaluru FC rope in former Indian footballer
In another significant ramp up, Delhi Dynamos have appointed Miguel Angel Portugal Vicario as their head coach, months before the 4th edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) is scheduled to start. The former Real Madrid player was a member of the League winning Madrid side in the 1980s. He has the experience of coaching at various clubs in Brazil and Portugal.
It is pertinent to note here that the 61-year old had formerly managed Racing Santander in the top division of Spanish football. Portugal started his tryst with managing in the mid-90s when he returned to Real Madrid to be in charge of its C and B sides. Thereafter in 1999, he was appointed as the head coach of the second division side CD Toledo, but his regime could continue for only a couple of months before he was sacked.
Consequently, he took a break and returned to coach another of his former club Cordoba in the Liga B division. Following which, he once again took up the reigns at Real Madrid Castilla to return to the senior side in the following season. Finally, he managed the Santander side in the top flight and took them on an impressive run to finish tenth in La Liga.
The Spaniard moved around and swapped the coaching role to be the technical director of Real Madrid. He was tipped to take over as the club coach in 2008 when Bernd Schuster got the boot. But club president Ramon Calderon opted for Juande Ramos instead.
A year later, Portugal returned to Racing on a two-year deal but could not keep his place despite managing to keep the team in the top division. The new owner of the club sacked the Spaniard in 2011 after which he stuck around as a coach of a number of smaller teams like, Bolivar, Atletico Paranaense and Valladolid.
In the words of the manager, the contract with ISL side Delhi Dynamos is being termed as a long-term one. However, nothing has been finalised regarding the long-term prospects of the same. It is no surprise that once again the ISL sides are preferring to go with foreign names as their coaching staff.
Bengaluru FC shore up backroom staff with Indian assistant coach
In a surprising move, Bengaluru FC have appointed former Indian footballer Naushad Moosa as their assistant coach for the upcoming season of the ISL. He is also the head coach of the club’s reserve side and now looks set to contribute to the senior side as well.
During his playing days, Moosa played for Air India, Churchill Brothers, East Bengal, Mahindra United, and Mohammedan in the National Football League and I-League. He also represented India from 1994 to 1998.
Thus, the trend of foreign names as the head coaches and Indian names for the assistant’s position continues to be backed by new entrants Bengaluru FC as well. After the appointment of Thangboi Singto and Ishfaq Ahmed in similar roles for Kerala Blasters FC and Tata Steel side, this comes as another achievement for the newbies of Indian football.