Goa: Antonio Lopez Habas’ stint with ATK Mohun Bagan came to an end, as the Spanish coach submitted a resignation letter which was subsequently accepted by the club. Habas is the only manager in the history of Hero ISL to win the coveted trophy twice.
ATKMB started their current season looking sharp with two wins. They were looking commanding, and a title contender as usual but the streak was halted when they were defeated by the defending champions by 5-1.
Since then ATKMB has not won any of their last four matches. Their latest disappointment came in the form of a 3-3 draw against an off-form Bengaluru FC. Habas reflected on the same and said, “It’s clear. We lost our identity.”
With a star-packed squad, the pressure to perform was there since the beginning. After a commanding derby win against SC East Bengal, the expectations only grew. Although in spite of having big names, the team failed to perform since their last win against East Bengal.
With the pressure mounting and no result, the Spaniard has decided to step down. Arguably the most successful coach, Habas was appointed by the ATK franchise in the year 2014. In his debut season, he won the tournament defeating Kerala Blasters in the final. Next season, he took his team to the semi-final, where they lost to Chennaiyan FC.
Habas came back for his second stint in ATK in 2019. Although ATK missed the league by a jiffy, the Kolkata-based franchise lifted the ISL after defeating Chennaiyin FC in the finals. After the merger between ATK and Mohun Bagan in the year 2020, Antonio Lopez Habas was again entrusted with the Head Coach role for ATK Mohun Bagan.
In his first season with the Mariners, he again came very close to winning both the league championship and ISL. But they fell short to Mumbai on both occasions. Manuel Cascalana, the assistant coach of ATKMB will be the interim coach.
