Who Is Jose Molina? Mohun Bagan's New head coach

Jose Molina has past work experience in the ISL.

Mohun Bagan have announced the arrival of a new head coach Jose Francisco Molina, ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season. This will be the Spaniard’s second try at coaching an Indian side, having also managed ATK in the past for a single season.

The 53-year-old comes in with a wealth of experience and has been involved with professional football for the last 35 years. He enjoyed a pretty good playing career before transitioning into a coach and will be tasked with getting the absolute best out of the Mariners’ squad next season.

He’s poised to replace Antonio Habas, who guided the Kolkata heavyweights to their first-ever Indian Super League (ISL) shield championship last season. Even though the veteran Spanish coach voiced his desire to stay as Mohun Bagan’s head coach for another season, the Mariners’ hierarchy seems to have the utmost trust in Jose Molina to be an ideal replacement for him.

Jose Molina’s experience in clinching major championships across his career and working in high-end management roles is probably why he’s been roped in by the Mariners’ management. Here we delve into his achievements so far and what can be expected from the gaffer from next season onwards.

Who Is Jose Molina?

Jose Molina is a 53-year-old football manager who has recently taken over the Mohun Bagan head coach role. He has signed a one-year contract with the Mariners and will be tasked to help them strongly compete in the AFC Champions League II and the ISL.

The Spaniard has over three decades of experience in top-level football. He started his coaching career in 2009 and has since coached the reserve teams of Villarreal and Getafe. He even managed Villarreal’s senior team for a short period in the 2011-12 season.

Jose Molina has extensive knowledge of coaching in Asia, having worked at Hong Kong side Kitchee FC and ATK. His previous-most coaching assignment, however, was in the 2017-18 season when he managed Mexican side Atletico San Luis.

Work Experience

Jose Molina bagged the role of the head coach of Villarreal C (third team) in the 2009-2010 season. He had garnered quite a reputation in Spain after being a well-known goalkeeper who won the 1995-96 La Liga championship with Atletico Madrid and even won the Best Goalkeeper award that year.

After a nearly two-decade stint as a player, he transitioned into a coach in 2009. He worked as the coach of Villarreal C for two years and helped them to fourth and sixth-placed finishes in the Tercera Division (fourth division) before being promoted to be the Villarreal B (reserves) coach. After a short stint, he was promoted to be Villarreal’s head coach in December 2011 – but only survived a few months in the job before being fired in March 2012.

Molina went on to manage Getafe’s reserves side for the 2013-14 season before traveling to Asia. He worked at Kitchee FC for a season before arriving at ATK in 2016, where he worked for one year in India. After leaving the Kolkata side, he traveled to Mexico for a short stint with Atletico San Luis.

However, the Spaniard bagged his biggest opportunity of his career in 2018. He was appointed as the sporting director of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Molina worked in that role for over four years, being responsible for working with the head coaches on promoting young players and giving debutant to new players.

Also Read: Mohun Bagan appoint former ATK boss Jose Molina as new head coach

Philosophy

Jose Molina prefers to have his team play a possession-heavy brand of football and be disciplined in terms of their approach and shape during matches. He prefers to have his side be patient and take time with their build-up play, using the midfielders to dictate the tempo of the game and precisely moving the ball forward in key areas.

He likes his teams to play the ball out of their half with slick passing football and focuses on getting a lot of service for the lone striker up front, mostly using the wide areas.

He likes his wingers to be able to cut into more central areas and for the full-backs to provide additional cover, while midfielders sit back to pass the ball into the right channels and give defensive cover.

However, Molina isn’t stubborn with his system and is flexible in changing his shape according to requirements. He usually likes playing a 4-3-3 system with a deep-lying number six, but during his time in the ISL, he also made the Kolkata side revert to a 4-2-3-1 to give them more attacking flexibility.

The 53-year-old also has a great eye for identifying impressive young talents and might promote some of the talented young players from Mohun Bagan’s reserve squad next season too.

Career Highlights

Jose Molina has been fortunate enough to taste success both as a player and a coach. In his playing career, he won five major titles in Spain with Atletico Madrid and Deportivo la Coruna. His first taste of silverware as a manager, however, only came once he moved to Hong Kong to coach Kitchee FC.

In his only season with them, he helped the Hong Kong heavyweights win the domestic treble (League, FA Cup and League Cup). After that, he also helped Atletico de Kolkata clinch their second ISL title in the 2016 season. Molina will be aiming to taste more silverware in India after making his return following an eight-year gap. He’s taking control of one of the strongest teams in the country and will be tasked with ensuring that the Mariners can maintain their dominant form going forward.

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