Juan Fernando started off as the head coach of FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) but on Monday he officially took over as the head coach of ATK Mohun Bagan. The announcement was made a day ahead of Mohun Bagan’s seventh football match of the season against NorthEast United FC.
Spain’s Fernando said in a statement, “I will contribute my 100 percent from day one so that the fans can enjoy the best of football and hopefully we will celebrate with them. I will continue to try my best to get the best out of my team.”
The 40-year-old coach resorted to the rule of leaving a club to break ties with FC Goa in the middle of the season. FC Goa owner Akshay Tandon expressed surprise and dismay at this. Tandon said, “It is with dismay I can confirm that Juan Fernando has resorted to release rules. We were forced to release him so that he can join ATK Mohun Bagan.”
Indian Super League (ISL) franchise FC Goa on Monday said it was a surprise move by the team’s head coach Juan Ferrando to leave in an unexpected way in the middle of the season. Ferrando left the Goa team and signed another ISL team ATK Mohun Bagan with the help of a ‘release clause’ in his contract.
ATK Mohun Bagan snapped ties with Antonio Habas on Saturday following poor results in the matches. FC Goa said that assistant coach Clifford Miranda will currently play the role of an interim coach in the team.
Ravi Puskar, Director of Football, FC Goa, said in a statement, “We are deeply disappointed by the departure of Juan. His decision to leave the club is unexpected and comes as a surprise especially mid-season. What is more disappointing to us is that we were kept in the dark till yesterday morning. I wish Juan a bright future.”