Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan AC have appointed Spaniard José Antonio “Kibu” Vicuña as their new head coach for the 2019/20 season. The 47-year-old Spanish national is a UEFA Pro Licence holder and has vast experience in professional coaching. Before joining Mohun Bagan he was at the helm of Polish Ekstraklasa side Wisla Plock.

Vicuña has a wealth of experience of coaching in Spain and Poland. He won the Polish League and the Polish Cup in 2012-13 as part of Legia Warsaw coaching staff. In 2015-16, he won the Polish Super Cup as part of the Lech Poznan coaching staff. He has worked extensively as an assistant with Jan Urban, an experienced Polish coach who represented Poland in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. He was an integral part of Legia Warsaw coaching team which was beaten in final playoff round of UEFA Champions League and subsequently played UEFA Europa League group stage in 2013-14.

He has coached prominent footballers like Raul Garcia, César Azpilicueta, Nacho Monreal and Javi Martinez. He was involved with youth teams of former LaLiga club CA Osasuna.

He has acquired several professional coaching degrees from the Royal Spanish Football Federation such as Professor of Tactics, Master of Physical Preparation, etc.

Directors of Mohun Bagan FC Srinjoy Bose and Debashish Dutta commented while announcing the new coach, “We have spoken with Kibu and he is happy and excited about the challenges of coaching in Mohun Bagan!”

They added that “Kibu has the ability, knowledge and experience. He promotes young players and has a style and a way of working similar to ours. He has a philosophy of the game that is very much like Mohun Bagan’s philosophy and is a hard worker. Also, he is passionate about applying advanced technology to both training and matches.”