FC Pune City named Antonio Lopez Habas as their new coach for the upcoming season of the Indian Super League (ISL). Habas was the head coach of Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) for the first two seasons of the ISL.
Habas replaces David Platt as FC Pune City's head coach. He is hopeful that FC Pune City will be one of the title contenders of ISL 2016.
Habas also expressed his delight after joining the Hrithik Roshan co-owned team and promised to yield positive results for the Orange and Purple brigade in the forthcoming season of the ISL.
"I'm very happy to be here, thank you. My philosophy is simple. We have to win. Have a consolidated group, have tactical discipline and be a family," Habas was quoted as saying by the official website of the ISL.
"We have to have a winning mentality. I have to convince the players immediately that we are going to win."
The Spaniard is an astute tactician, who believes in building a team from the back. He led Atletico de Kolkata to the first ever ISL title in 2014. In the second season, ATK almost made it to the final, only to lose to Chennaiyin FC in the semifinals.
Habas will bring a lot of experience to this FC Pune City side. The 58-year old has the experience of coaching Spanish clubs like Sporting Gijon, Granada and Valencia.
The former ATK coach is hopeful that he will be able to lead his new side to their first ever semifinal in the next season of the ISL. FC Pune City finished sixth and seventh respectively in the points table in the last two editions of the ISL.
