From John Gregory to Teddy Sherringham: ISL Coach Call

With ISL 4 inching closer, Express takes a look at the coaches in charge of the 10 franchises in this cash-rich tournament...

ATK (Teddy Sherringham, England)

One of the high profile managerial appointments of this season, former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur forward Teddy Sherringham replaced Jose Francisco Molina at ATK. He had taken charge of Stevenage in the English Football League before arriving in the ISL fray.

Bengaluru FC (Albert Roca, Spain)

Spaniard Albert Roca Pujol will be supervising BFC’s transition from the I-League to the ISL. The former defender stepped over to the other side of the white line in the late 1990s, and was deputy to Frank Rijkaard at FC Barcelona and the Galatasaray SK backroom.

Chennaiyin FC (John Gregory, England)

A midfielder with close to 600 senior appearances, John Gregory has managed the likes of  Portsmouth, Wycombe Wanderers, Aston Villa, Crawley Town, among others. The 63-year-old also coached in Israel and Kazakhstan before hooking up with Chennaiyin FC this July.

Delhi Dynamos (Miguel Angel Portugal, Spain) 

Was a midfielder for clubs like Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Cordoba CF. The author of ‘Futbol - Medios de Entrenamiento Con Balon’, has previously managed the Real Madrid B and C teams, as well as the likes of Racing Santander and Real Valladolid.

FC Goa (Sergio Lobera Rodriguez, Spain)

Was a former Barcelona C and UD Las Palmas coach and was also Tito Vilanova’s assistant in the Catalan giants’ first team. With close to two decades of management experience under his belt, the Spaniard arrived as FC Goa manager ahead of the upcoming season.

FC Pune City (Ranko Popovic, Serbia)

Replaces a successful yet temperamental Jose Antonio Habas. Popovic, 50, moved into management in 2001, and the former SK Sturm Graz defender has had managerial stints in Japan, Spain and Thailand before taking charge of FC Pune City in the ISL.

Mumbai City FC (Alexandre Guimaraes, Costa Rica)

Was re-installed in the hot seat after guiding them to a semifinal finish last time. The 58-year-old midfielder represented Costa Rica in the late 1980s. He later managed them, culminating in two FIFA World Cup campaigns in 2002 & 2006.

Kerala Blasters FC (Rene Meulensteen, Netherlands)

Has worked with Sir Alex Ferguson as part of Manchester United’s thinktank for around 11 years and played a part in the side’s 2008 UEFA Champions League triumph, also worked at Anzhi Makhachkala, Fulham and Maccabi Haifa.

North East United FC (João Carlos Pires de Deus, Portugal)

Coached Atletico Clube de Portugal and CD  Nacional across Portugal and Spain, as well as being the head coach of Cape Verde. The Portuguese’s club career was spent as a defender with sides such as Estoria, Vitoria Setubal, and FC Barreirense.