Ranking 10 most high profile coaches in ISL

ISL has seen some really elite coaches over the years.

Over the years, the Indian Super League (ISL) teams have been blessed with some really intelligent and experienced coaches to help the Indian players develop their skills. Since its first year (in 2014), the ISL clubs have invested major money into bringing in quality coaches who could raise the performance levels of their team and help the players grow.

As a result, there have been a number of notable coaches to have had stints in the ISL and have had an impact on improving the domestic and foreign players. Some of these high-profile coaches attained a lot of success in their stints, while a few coaches were not really able to guide their teams to major accolades.

Irrespective of their achievements with their respective teams, these coaches elevated the prestige of their ISL with their presence and impact on improving certain players. Now, we look at the 10 most high-profile coaches to have managed teams in the ISL.

10. Des Buckingham

Des Buckingham was appointed by the City Football Group to the Mumbai City FC head coach role in 2021 after the departure of Sergio Lobera. He arrived at the club with a wealth of experience, having had stints as the Wellington Phoenix head coach as well as a former manager of the New Zealand under-23 side.

Buckingham made his influence felt with Mumbai City, helping them compete at a very high level from the get-go.

Under him, the Islanders won the ISL Winner’s Shield in the 2022-23 season, beating significant competition for the trophy as well. Buckingham took charge of 71 matches with Mumbai City, helping them win 37 games in the process and score 147 goals. He left the club in 2023 for a job at Oxford United and is currently the head coach of Saudi Pro League side Al-Kholood.

9. Rene Meulensteen

Rene Meulensteen would popularly be remembered as the assistant of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, as he played a role in their success since taking up the role in 2007. Before that, the Dutchman had stints managing the likes of Al-Ittihad and Al-Sadd, as well as the Manchester United youth teams! Meulensteen also enjoyed a stint as the Fulham manager in the 2013-14 season, giving him more experience in the head coach role.

In 2017, Kerala Blasters roped in Meulensteen to be their head coach to help them compete for the ISL title. It ended up being quite a sorrowful stint, as he was in charge of the Blasters for just seven matches and guided them to one win. Meulensteen resigned from his role halfway into the campaign, but despite his poor stint, he remains one of the most notable coaches to have worked in the ISL.

8. Jorge Costa

The late Jorge Costa, who passed away in 2025, had quite a memorable coaching stint in the ISL as the Mumbai City FC head coach from 2018 to 2020. In that period, he helped the Islanders finish in third place in the 2018-19 ISL league stages before losing to FC Goa in the playoffs.

Costa had a decent amount of experience in his career before joining Mumbai City, having played under Jose Mourinho at FC Porto and also winning the UEFA Champions League title with them.

He also had stints managing clubs like Braga, CFR Cluj and the Gabon National Football team, being a journeyman manager. Costa won 17 of his 39 matches in charge of Mumbai City before leaving the club at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

7. Albert Roca

Albert Roca gained his fame as a quality coach as an assistant coach of Frank Rijkaard, when he was the Barcelona manager from 2003 to 2008. Roca was able to fully understand the Tiki-Taka style, going on to have assistant coach roles at Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabia national football team as well.

In 2016, he was appointed as the Bengaluru FC head coach and was at their helm when they made their debut in the ISL.

The Blues finished as the ISL runners-up in the 2017-18 campaign, losing in the final to Chennaiyin FC despite finishing the league stages on top of the table. Roca helped Bengaluru FC win 13 of their 18 ISL matches under him, averaging an impressive 2.22 points per match.

He is currently working as the Philippines national team assistant coach, and even worked under Ronald Koeman as a fitness coach at Barcelona in the 2020-21 season, with the Spaniard definitely being among the most experienced coaches to have managed in the ISL.

6. Sergio Lobera

Another product of the FC Barcelona coaching set-up to have graced the ISL is Sergio Lobera, who worked as a youth coach for the club for a decade. Lobera even worked as an assistant coach of Tito Vilanova at Barcelona, as well as being the Las Palmas manager, before he opted to move to Indian football in 2017.

FC Goa snapped the Spaniard up, with Lobera transforming the Gaurs into a possession-heavy team who played beautiful attacking football.

Lobera guided Goa to win the ISL League Shield title in the 2018-19 season, before also helping Mumbai City FC win the ISL Shield and ISL trophy in the 2020-21 campaign.

Lobera had a notable stint as the Odisha FC head coach from 2023-2025, and he’s currently the manager with the most matches managed in ISL history, with 127 matches across three teams. Lobera will now embark on a new journey as the Mohun Bagan gaffer, as he aims to add more ISL trophies to his tally.

5. Avram Grant

Avram Grant is definitely a one-in-a-million kind of manager because of the sheer longevity he maintained in his playing career. Grant started coaching at the age of 17, working as the Hapoel Petah Tikva youth coach in his 20s. He gained his fame as the Maccabi Tel Aviv boss before also managing the Israel national team.

Grant really rose to fame as the Chelsea manager in the 2007-08 season, before also having stints at Portsmouth and West Ham United.

Avram was roped in as the technical advisor for NorthEast United FC, but ended up working as a head coach for them. He worked in the role for only a few months, with the Highlanders winning just two of their 17 matches under him.

Irrespective, Grant remains one of the most decorated coaches in ISL history and one who gave some valuable coaching to the Highlanders’ players.

4. Phil Brown

Phil Brown gained quite a decent reputation in the English football scene, having over 600 appearances as a player before transitioning into a coach. He earned most of his popularity as the Hull City manager, helping them win the 2007-08 Championship playoff final and get promoted to the Premier League.

He had a stint managing in the top English division, as he ensured they barely avoided relegation from the Premier League in the 2008-09 season.

Brown had a stint at Southend United and Swindon Town before FC Pune City roped him in as their manager in the 2018-19 season.

He was the head coach for Pune City and the corresponding Hyderabad FC (now SC Delhi), managing 20 matches in the ISL but only winning four of them. Despite his poor record in the ISL, Brown remains one of the most notable coaches to work in the ISL and helps players improve under his setup.

3. Jose Molina

Jose Molina might have exited his role as the Mohun Bagan head coach recently, but that doesn’t undermine his achievements in the ISL. The Spaniard, who earned his reputation as the Villarreal manager in the 2011-12 season, arrived in ISL in 2016.

He helped Atletico de Kolkata win the ISL title before departing, and Molina even worked for five years as the Sporting Director for the Spanish national team from 2018 to 2023.

In 2024, he made a return to Indian football as the Mohun Bagan head coach. In his first season, the Spaniard helped the Mariners win the ISL League Shield and ISL title, but couldn’t maintain the momentum in his second season. Irrespective, Molina remains a high-profile option to have coached in the ISL and gotten a lot of success as well.

2. Owen Coyle

Owen Coyle spent his entire playing career in British football, making well over 650 appearances in playing for clubs like Bolton Wanderers, Dundee United and Motherwell.

He transitioned into a coaching career soon after retiring, and went on to manage clubs like Burnley, Bolton and Blackburn Rovers. In 2019, Coyle decided to give Indian football a try, as he joined up as the Chennaiyin FC head coach to help them reach the ISL finals, where they lost to ATK.

Coyle would, however, have his success with Jamshedpur FC, as he helped them win the 2021-22 ISL League Winners’ Shield. He returned to Chennaiyin FC in 2023 for a two-year stint before exiting in 2025, and remains a highly decorated head coach to have helped improve Indian footballers during his time in the ISL.

1. Antonio Habas

Antonio Habas will always be remembered for his achievements in the ISL, as he was able to transition his style to excel in Indian football too. The former Sevilla footballer had an extremely varied playing career before he arrived in Indian football.

Habas managed the likes of the Bolivia national team, Sporting Gijon, Valencia and Celta Vigo before he arrived in India in 2014. Habas helped Atletico de Kolkata win the first-ever ISL title, before he also managed FC Pune City.

The Spaniard returned to ATK in 2019, helping them win the 2019-20 ISL title as well. Habas was then able to help Mohun Bagan win the 2023-24 ISL Winners’ Shield, becoming the only manager to win an ISL title three times in his career.

Habas has coached 109 matches as a head coach in the ISL, and is likely to return as the Inter Kashi manager for the 2025-26 season.

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