Kerala Blasters has appointed Spaniard Kibu Vicuna as its head coach, after the club parted ways with Dutchman Eelco Schattorie on Wednesday, whose one year contract with the club came to an end.
Vicuna was recently in charge of Mohun Bagan, which won the I-League title before its merger with ATK and entered into the ISL. Antonio Habas, who won the ISL title with ATK, was named the head coach of ATK-Mohun Bagan.
ALSO READ | Kerala Blasters parts ways with Eelco Schattorie
Vicuna took over from Khalid Jamil and became the first foreign coach the Mariners have had since Moroccan Karim Bencherifa left the club in April 2014. Under him, Mohun Bagan played a high-tempo, attractive football — securing a second I-League title, with four games to spare.
The Blasters recently announced the appointment of Lithuanian Karolis Skinkys as its sporting director.
The Kochi-based club had a poor ISL 2019-20 season that saw it finish seventh with 19 points from 18 games, managing only four wins along the way.
Coaching experience
Vicuna's first coaching experience came with CA Osasuna in 2002. Three years later, he took over as manager of Spanish Tercera Division club CD River Ega.
In 2007, he served the assistant coach to Jan Urban, who managed Poland at Euro 2008. He continued his association with Urban for 11 years — across clubs like Legia Warszawa, Zaglebie Lubin, Legia Warszawa, CA Osasuna, Lech Poznan and Slask Wroclaw.
His first first senior managerial role was with Lithuanian club FK Riteriai in 2018.
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