Sergio Lobera needs no introduction in Indian football. Five trophies with three different Indian Super League (ISL) clubs and six seasons in the top men’s division did the talking for him when Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the defending champions, started looking for a replacement after parting ways with head coach Francisco Molina.
A trophy with a fourth club now looms ahead of him as a potential title decider in Calcutta, and the Spaniard is beaming with confidence.
«I think tomorrow is a final. You just have to see this room,» Lobera told a gathering of more than a hundred media personnel packed into the press conference room. «To play games like this and have this environment, it’s great for us. I’m very confident because I have very good players with enough experience to play games like this.»
«It’s a very good opportunity for us to show everyone that we can win the trophy because we are better than the opponent. But on paper everything is great. It’s time to speak on the pitch,» he added.
Bagan has undergone a subtle change in approach from last season, choosing control over aggression. It has scored 47 goals in 24 league games, an average of 1.96 goals per game – a figure that has fallen slightly to 1.81, while the number of games in which it has won by at least two goals has fallen from 45.8 percent to 36 percent.
“We have to be more clinical in the final third because we can kill games (then) and sometimes we give the opponents chances to reach the final (third),” he said.
Bagan come into the match on the back of back-to-back draws, their first dip since January 2025, but Lobera insisted the dressing room is not thinking about the past.
«If you play in the Champions League, you might not have been at your best level in the previous match. But if you are in the final, you are in the final. It doesn’t matter what happened before. And we have the opportunity to play one final tomorrow, and we are ready for that,» he said.
His squad will also be strengthened with the return of Lalengmawia ‘Apuia’ Ralte, who is expected to start against East Bengal after missing the match against Kashi.
«Lalengmawia is fit and he is going to play. It is not about just one player. I think the individuality can shine if the team works well. There are very good players in the opponent team, and we cannot just focus on one player because I think it will be a big mistake,» Lobera clarified.
However, there will be one lingering problem for Bagan, unlike in previous seasons. Even if it wins the ISL, it will not qualify for Asia as the club is serving a two-season ban with the Asian Football Confederation.
However, Lobera explained that sanctions will have no effect on the targeting of his departments.
«No, I don’t think so. The motivation is there… When you are at a club like this, you have to finish first. I don’t think Real Madrid would be happy if he finished second. FC Barcelona wouldn’t be either. We are this kind of team. We have to win, and there are no excuses,» he said.
«For tomorrow’s match, as a coach you may have to try to find the balance in motivation, because too much of it can be counterproductive. In these types of matches you tend to win more with the head than with the heart.»
Lobera had broken thousands of Bagan hearts three times in one season while managing Mumbai City FC, including a 1-0 win at the Salt Lake Stadium. In front of a sold-out stadium on Sunday, he will get the chance to make amends, now in green and maroon, with the ISL title potentially on the line.
Published on May 16, 2026
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Medet-Zheenaliev-051626-1-b2bc801d98c94c05b631bfa47c1c0c8d.jpg?w=100&resize=100,75&ssl=1 "Luchador de MMA, de 30 años, muere tras saltar al lago para salvar a una adolescente de ahogarse en un popular pueblo turístico")
