ISL 2021-22: SC East Bengal set to appoint new head coach
SC East Bengal will appoint Mario Rivera as their new head coach until the end of the season.
By : Archan Mukherjee
Update: 2022-01-01 09:21 GMT
After a prolonged period of speculation, Indian Super League side SC East Bengal have finally reached an agreement with Mario Rivera Campesino to become their new head coach The Bridge understands.
Mario would join the Red and Gold Brigade for the rest of the season, following the departure of José Manuel 'Manolo' Díaz Fernández. The Kolkata-giants are currently at the bottom of the table and Manolo was dismissed from his position after an embarrassing run in the opening eight ISL games.
The club has announced Renedy Singh as the interim head coach. He will be in charge of the team for the next two games against Bengaluru FC and Mumbai City FC, till Mario completes his 7-day mandatory quarantine and take over the charge in the second phase of the tournament.
Rivera started his managerial career with the youth set up of CD Leganes back in 2007. He joined East Bengal in the 2018-19 season as the video analyst and deputy of head coach of Alejandro Menendez. He worked with Alejandro for 32 games before being replaced by Josep Ferre at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
The 44-year-old Spanish came back to East Bengal after Menendez Garcia stepped down from his position in January 2020. Rivera took charge for seven games and guided them to a second-place finish in the I-League 2019-20 season.
However, this will be his first taste of management in the Indian Super League. Mario, in his second stint as head coach, will be hoping to turn around the fortunes of East Bengal. But it goes without saying that it will be an uphill task for the new manager to get the team back on the right track this season.
SC East Bengal plays their next game on 4th January against Bengaluru FC and they will surely look to get their first win of the season in the new year.