FILE IMAGE: Mohun Bagan head coach Sergio Lobera will be involved in a Kolkata derby for the first time. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports/FSDL

Sergio Lobera needs no introduction in Indian football. Five trophies across three different Indian Super League (ISL) clubs and six seasons in the men’s top flight did the talking for him when Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the defending champion, came looking for a replacement after parting ways with head coach Francisco Molina.

A trophy with a fourth club now looms for him in a potential title-decider in Kolkata, and the Spaniard is beaming with confidence.

“I think tomorrow is a final. You only need to see this room,” Lobera told an assembly of over 100 media personnel packed inside the press conference room. “To play games like this and have this environment, it’s amazing for us. I am very confident because I have very good players with enough experience to play games like this.”

“It’s a very good opportunity for us to show everyone that we can win the trophy because we are better than the opponent. But on paper, everything is amazing. It’s time to speak on the pitch,” he added.

Bagan has undergone a subtle change in its approach from last season, choosing control over aggression. It scored 47 goals in 24 league-matches, an average of 1.96 goals per game – a value that has fallen slightly to 1.81, while the number of matches where it has won by at least two goals has fallen from 45.8 per cent to 36 per cent.

“We need to be more clinical in the last third because we can kill games (then) and we are giving opportunities to the opponents, sometimes, to reach the final (third),” he said.

Bagan is coming into the match after consecutive draws, its first such dip since January 2025, but Lobera maintained that the dressing room is not thinking about the past.

“If you play in the Champions League, maybe you were not at your best level in the previous match. But when you are in the final, you are in the final. It doesn’t matter what happened before. And we have the opportunity to play one final tomorrow, and we are ready for that,” he said.

His side will also be bolstered with the return of Lalengmawia ‘Apuia’ Ralte, who is expected to start against East Bengal after missing the match against Kashi.

“Lalengmawia is fit, and he is going to play. It’s not about only one player. I think the individualities can shine when the team is working well. There are very good players in the opponent team, and we cannot focus only on one player because I think it will be a big mistake,” Lobera clarified.

However, there will be one lingering issue for Bagan, unlike the previous seasons. Even if it wins the ISL, it will not qualify for Asia, with the club serving a two-season ban from the Asian Football Confederation.

Lobera, though, explained that sanctions will have no effect on firing his wards up.

“No, I don’t think so. The motivation is there... When you are in a club like this, you need to finish in the first position. I don’t think Real Madrid is happy finishing second. Neither would be FC Barcelona. We are these kinds of teams. We need to win, and there are no excuses,” he said

“For tomorrow’s game, as a coach, maybe you need to try to find the balance in motivation because too much of it could be counterproductive. In these kinds of games, you tend to win more with the head than with the heart.”

Lobera had broken thousands of Bagan’s hearts thrice in a season, while in charge of Mumbai City FC, including a 1-0 win at the Salt Lake Stadium. In front of a sold-out stadium on Sunday, he will have a chance to make amends, now in the colours of green and maroon, with the ISL title potentially on the line.

Published on May 16, 2026