Odisha FC suffered a rough patch under the former coach’s tenure as the club was strangled at the 11th position. Stuart Baxter brought the baggage of experience with him but failed to materialize, and even an unfortunate controversy led to his parting from the club. IFTWC can confirm that they are set to appoint Kiko Ramirez as their new head coach.
“Odisha FC have finalized Kiko as the head coach for the upcoming season,” a source close to the development has revealed.
Kiko started his coaching career when he joined Pobla de Mafumet CF in 2010. He then had stints with Spanish lower division clubs like Gimnastic, CE L’Hospitalet and CD Castellon. In his first season with CE L’Hospitalet, they finished 2nd in the points table but failed to get promoted. The Spanish gaffer moved out of Spain to join Wisla Krakow and spent one season there. Kiko won 16 games out of the 38 he managed in Poland. Another Spanish manager, Joan Carrilo, replaced him.
He returned to Spain to manage Sabadell, the club where he spent a couple of years as a player. The 50 years old Spanish tactician spent only a few months at the club before moving outside again to sign for the Greek Super League club Xanthi FC.
Odisha FC recently roped in Spanish legend David Villa as their head of global football operations. Villa brings an expert team, collectively known as the DV7 group, which includes former Odisha fan favourite coach Josep Gombau.
After a disappointing outing that saw them finish bottom in the Hero Indian Super League ladder with just 12 points, Odisha FC is set for a massive rebuild. The club has already brought in a few promising names like former ISL emerging player Lalruathara, Hyderabad FC fullback Sahil Panwar and I-League 20/21 champion Sebastian.
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