Jose Molina lists things he's grateful for after Mohun Bagan ISL Shield success

Jose Molina’s Mohun Bagan Super Giant became the first team to win the shield for the second consecutive time

Jose Molina’s Mohun Bagan claimed the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) shield after their 1-0 win over Odisha FC at a jam-packed Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday (February 23). It took a late winner from Dimitri Petratos in the 93rd minute for the Mariners to seal the three points needed to officially ensure that they’ll end the league phase on first position.

Jose Molina was a delighted and relieved man after seeing Mohun Bagan clinch the league shield after months of hard work. After the game, he stated: “I’m absolutely amazed to win the title after today’s match. We deserved more goals, but football is not like that. In the last moment, we could score that goal as Dimi Petratos took a great shot and he deserved to score that shield-winning goal. I’m absolutely grateful to everyone, from the owner Mr. Sanjeev Goenka and the management for believing in me and trusting me to be the Mohun Bagan coach. I thank all my coaching staff who helped me as I couldn’t do it by myself. All the support staff helped me work in the same direction and of course, without these great players nothing would’ve happened.

Head coach Jose Molina was elated as his side made history winning the ISL Shield twice! #IndianFootball #ISL #LetsFootball #MBSG #MohunBagan pic.twitter.com/pHBmz69vQz

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) February 23, 2025

“They worked a lot, they trusted in me and worked really hard. They did a great job of sealing the shield. We have two matches remaining, we are champions with 16 wins in 22 games and we have 14 clean sheets and only two losses. It’s been amazing, and I’m really grateful for every one. I’ve always maintained that our work is to make the fans happy and today they’re the happiest fans around the world. I’m happy for them and grateful for the support they gave us from the beginning. We had three match points to win the shield, today, against Mumbai City and against FC Goa. Happy we won it with our chance today,” he also stated.

On his substitutions bearing results

Jose Molina was forced to make a unique tweak to his system to influence his side’s late win. He took off Tom Aldred and Greg Stewart to bring on Petratos as well as Jason Cummings, reverting to a 3-4-3 formation towards the end to pile on the pressure on Odisha. Speaking about his mindset when making these changes, the gaffer explained: “I was thinking, during the match, about having Apuia (Ralte) and (Deepak) Tangri as midfielders.

How Greg Stewart could help in keeping the possession, more than Cummings or Petratos. I felt that Greg could help more from the beginning in terms of having possession and creating chances to score. I was thinking that if we needed goals, Petratos and Cummings could score from the bench. They can smell goals more often than Greg, Jason and Dimi score more often.”

“We dominated the second half, the first half was 50/50 but the second one was absolutely in our way. I told the players in the drink break that we are going to win the match, we will win the match! We made substitutions to three-in-the-back, I put Anirudh Thapa in midfield because he can make more runs into the box than Tangri.

“I don’t know why, but I felt that this could be Dimi’s match. In the last five minutes, I felt it was ideal to play Jamie, Dimi and Jason forward with the two wing-backs Manvir Singh and Ashique Kuruniyan. Maybe I was right with the thinking,” he added.

The Mariners have two more matches to play in the league phase, against Mumbai City (2 March) and FC Goa (8 March).

On questions on potential rotations to his squad for the game, Jose Molina simply claimed: “I don’t know about that right now, but I’m sure we’ll put a great lineup against Mumbai City. The only thing I’ll do in terms of lineups or players is to try and avoid suspensions. We don’t want suspended players in the semi-final, I’l take care of the players for the players who are on a lot of cards. I want them to be ready for the first leg of the semi-final.”

On winning the ISL Shield

Finally, when asked which one he considers more precious among the ISL league shield title win with Mohun Bagan or the ISL win as ATK manager (in 2016), Molina claimed: “Both are important. The owner asked me that question and for me it’s like choosing between my father or my mother. It doesn’t matter if I win a trophy as a coach or even as a sporting director for the Spain national team.

“We always work for that, our aim is to win trophies. Every time we can do it, a match or title, it’s a really happy moment. When you win a title, I feel more relaxed than anything. I’m absolutely relaxed right now. The job is done, so I’m enjoying right now,” he finished off with.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.