Kolkata: It’s not the kind of result the winner in Antonio Lopez Habas would have loved to end a season with.
No wonder that after losing the Indian Super League Cup to Mumbai City FC, the veteran Spaniard has refused to throw in the towel on his coaching career in Indian football and is willing to kick-start a new season with perhaps some unfinished business.
Having assumed charge of Mohun Bagan SG just five months ago, Habas did wonders, guiding them to their maiden ISL Shield in one of the greatest comeback stories for a team in the league’s 10-year-old history.
However, Mumbai City FC — having surrendered the Shield three weeks ago — denied Habas and his team the opportunity of doing a rare ‘double’, silencing the green-and-maroon brigade in front of a packed Salt Lake Stadium with a 3-1 win in the ISL cup final on Saturday.
When Habas took up the reins of the team, replacing Juan Ferrando, it was believed to be a stop-gap arrangement by the club management.
However, having helped Mohun Bagan turn a corner, the 66-year-old wishes to stay on with the Kolkata side for another season.
“I want to finish my coaching career in India. But I don’t want to retire immediately after this loss,” Habas said after the ISL Cup final.
“I’m having negotiations with the club to continue, with the possibility of signing for one more season,” he added.
The Mohun Bagan SG management is yet to make any announcement in this respect.
Meanwhile, the club is likely to bolster the squad ahead of starting their campaign in the AFC Champions League 2.
While Mohun Bagan SG, by dint of winning the ISL Shield, have got a direct entry into the ACL-2 group stage, Super Cup winners East Bengal FC will play in the tournament’s qualifying playoffs.
ISL 2023-’24: ROLL OF HONOUR
League Winners: Mohun Bagan SG
Cup Winners: Mumbai City FC
Best player: Dimitrios Petratos (Mohun Bagan)
Top scorer: Dimitrios Diamantakos (Kerala Blasters)
Best goalkeeper:
Phurba Lachenpa (Mumbai City)
Emerging Player of the League: Vikram Partap Singh (Mumbai City)