In football news, Indian Super League side Odisha FC have announced Francisco Ramirez Gonzalez as Head Coach and Joaquín "Kino" García Sánchez as Assistant Coach and Head of Football Development ahead of the upcoming ISL season 8. The Head Coach has signed for the Bhubaneshwar based franchise for one year, with an option to extend for a further year at the end of the season.
Ramirez started his coaching career with Spanish club Gimnastic in 2002 in an assistant role followed by a position as the Youth Coach. He joined Pobla Mafumet in 2010 before returning back to Gimnastic in 2012 and has also coached CE L'Hospitalet, CD Castellon, and CE Sabadell in Spain. Before coming to India, Ramirez was the coach of Polish football side Wisla Krakow followed by a stint at Greek side AO Xanthi FC in 2019.
Speaking about the appointment, Club President Mr. Raj Athwal expressed, "We are delighted to welcome Coach Ramirez to the Odisha family. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the club and has an impressive record with the clubs he has managed in Europe. Throughout the process, he impressed with his vision and ambition and demonstrated a desire to create a winning mentality at Odisha Football Club. I am sure our supporters and everyone in Odisha will welcome Coach Ramirez with open arms. We wish him well in achieving success for our football club."
After signing for the Club, Coach Ramírez mentioned, "I am very excited to arrive in India and start working on this amazing project with Odisha FC to make our fans feel proud of the team. We are going to work hard to build a strong team with good players that represent our fan base."
Odisha FC have also announced Joaquín "Kino" García Sánchez as Assistant Coach and Head of Football Development ahead of the 2021-2022 ISL season. The UEFA Pro License holder is a former coach at Valencia CF's youth teams and has coached Levante UD in the first division of women’s football.
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Speaking on the Assistant Coach, Mr. Athwal stated, "I am also pleased to welcome our Assistant Coach Joaquin who has an impressive track record of developing players from the youth set up to the first team. His experience of coaching and developing the youth teams at Valencia CF will be paramount as we look to build and strengthen our Academy in Odisha. As an expert in Coaching, we have no doubt Joaquin alongside Coach Ramirez will bring much-needed success to Odisha Football Club."
After joining OFC, the Spanish Assistant Coach and OFC's new Head of Football Development explained, "I am happy to be part of the team as Assistant Coach of the first team and Head of Football Development for the Club. I am really looking forward to starting training with the great team that we are building. To all the fans, you will feel proud of us. See you in the pitch."
