Data check: How coach Sergio Lobera fared during his time at FC Goa

In a move that has received widespread criticism, FC Goa did the unthinkable on Saturday by showing head coach Sergio Lobera the door alongside his two assistant coaches Jesus Tato and Manuel Sayabera midway during the 2019-’20 Indian Super League season.

In a strange turn of events, the club management gave Lobera the axe despite FC Goa leading the table in the ongoing campaign. This is the first occasion in the history of the ISL where a manager has left half-way towards the season.

Whether this unexpected decision will have adverse bearing on FC Goa’s fight to grab the AFC Champions League spot and qualify for the playoffs remains to be seen but Lobera departs FC Goa with an impressive record.

Read - Lobera on winning players’ belief, the legacy he wants to leave at FC Goa and more

In two-and-a-half seasons under the Spaniard, the Gaurs have taken the league by storm, shattering records alongside displaying a free-flowing, attacking brand of football that won admirers not only in Goa but in Indian football.

Lobera fought off stiff competition alongside many other strong candidates to bag the FC Goa job ahead of the 2017-’18 season. This was after they finished at the bottom the previous year under Brazilian legend Zico.

Results did not follow immediately but Lobera, who spent nine years as a youth coach at Barcelona’s renowned La Masia academy, stuck to his principles and turned around the club’s fortunes. His philosophy was a stark contrast to the conservative and direct style preferred by his predecessor, with more emphasis put on keeping the ball and pinning the opposition in their own half.

During his tenure, he guided the club to two successive playoff finishes that included a runners-up medal during the 2018-’19 season, where they narrowly lost to Bengaluru FC in extra-added time. However, a piece of silverware finally followed in the summer, where FC Goa lifted the Super Cup, the first-ever trophy in their history.

Lobera, while delivering on his promise of repaying fans with entertaining football, has scripted a plethora of records during his time in India. In each of his seasons, FC have surpassed every other side for goals scored and were the first to cross the 100-goal mark, a milestone no other club has matched till date. FC Goa remain the only side to score the most amount of goals in a season (43) which came during Lobera’s debut campaign.

They are only second to defending champions Bengaluru FC for most wins under Lobera but the Blues did that under two managers, Albert Roca and Carles Cuadrat.