Despite a poor start to the season, Mohun Bagan managed to win the IFA Shield, beating arch rivals East Bengal in the final in a penalty shoot-out, and went to Goa as one of the favourites to win the Super Cup.
Mohun Bagan started the campaign well, against a Chennaiyin FC side, who fielded an all Indian XI and just trained for a week. They convincingly won the game 2-0, but against Dempo SC, an I League side, Molina chose to rotate the system and team, and Mohun Bagan struggled and drew 0-0.
The derby became a must-win game to proceed to the next round, where East Bengal had to get a draw to proceed further. East Bengal coach Oscar Bruzon has done what was needed - he settled for a draw, but some might argue they were the better side last night.
It's no secret, Molina's job is under threat, as we reported in the MBFT YouTube live on the night of the IFA Shield final. After getting knocked out of the cup, Molina surprised a few by claiming he didn't get the foreigners he wanted.
MBFT can confirm, coach Jose Molina asked for at least two players, one of them, Kerala Blasters captain Adrian Luna, who can play as a Number 10, play on the left side, and sometimes can operate from the deep, but some might argue, he has already passed his prime. Ultimatel,y the deal didn't go through as Luna was too costly.
The second profile was a 38-year-old Spaniard, who once played for a famous Spanish giants, now playing in division 3, but due to his age, management vetoed it, as they had reservations about signing an aged player. Although there's a possibility of other profiles, we are not aware of any other names.
Molina also advocated for Tekcham Abhishek Singh and made his signing one of his priorities, and Mohun Bagan signed him, but, coach Molina so far has used him only as a backup to Captain Subhasish Bose, who has not reached his prime form this season at all.
Mohun Bagan management has been poor this season, making multiple wrong decisions, which have not helped the Mohun Bagan football team at all. The delay in pre-season, not replacing an underperforming foreigner and an aged one, when there was a chance, and, most importantly, not flying to Iran are mistakes which has cost the club big time this season, but retaining coach Jose Molina was a no-brainer.
But, after Molina's press conference last night, many in the industry are predicting he has coached his last game for the ISL winners and will be leaving the club soon.
In such a scenario, Mohun Bagan have already drawn up a 3-man shortlist, sources have told MBFT. Mohun Bagan are primarily eyeing an old club target, former ISL Champion Sergio Lobera, who has admirers at Mohun Bagan, and, MBFT can exclusively confirm, he is the leading candidate to take over from Jose Molina, though a decision has not been made yet.
In 2023, after Antonio Lopez Habas left, Mohun Bagan were in search of a new head coach, and Sergio Lobera was the primary name on the shortlist. Both parties couldn't agree on a few details last time, so the deal didn't go through, and the club appointed Jose Molina.
Right now, though, Sergio Lobera seems to be an option who is available in the market, as he is open to leaving his current club. Ally, close to Lobera, once described Mohun Bagan as his dream destination, and if the job becomes available, he will be the frontrunner for the job.
Mohun Bagan have two other names in the manager shortlist, MBFT has been told, where one of them has past ISL experience.
After withdrawing from ACL Two and getting knocked out of the Super Cup, Mohun Bagan is not aware when they will play next, as it's still not confirmed when the Indian Super League will kickstart. Mohun Bagan management faces a tough task to replace the head coach within this time, if Jose Molina is indeed going to leave the club.