Kolkata: The ban in Asia will not come in the way of Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s determination to retain the Indian Super League (ISL) title, new coach Sergio Lobera said here on Thursday. The shortened season makes it a different competition where the margin for error is less but at the “best club in India,” finishing second is not an option, said the Spaniard.

“ If you are in Real Madrid or FC Barcelona, if one of them finishes in second position, they are not happy. I know I am in this kind of club,” said Lobera, 49, in his first interaction with the media since being announced as Jose Molina’s replacement on November 26.

Which is why it wouldn’t matter that Mohun Bagan cannot represent India in Asian Champions League 2 even if they win ISL12. “The most important motivation is to win trophies. You are not thinking that you cannot play in the international competition. Our target is to win trophies and play in this competition again.”

Mohun Bagan have been banned by the Asian Football Confederation from continental competitions for one season up to 2027-28 for refusing to travel to Iran for the ACL2 group league match against Iran’s Sepahan last term. They were also fined $50,000. In 2023-24 too, Mohun Bagan were scratched from Asia’s second tier tournament for not travelling to Iran.

A mid-season appointment, Mohun Bagan’s third in six seasons, Lobera inherited a squad that he said has the tools to keep the title. “Maybe in another club, they are always asking you to win but you don’t have the tools you have in Mohun Bagan. There are no excuses. We are in a winning team. I have my responsibility to continue winning.

“When you have maybe 20-22 players at the highest level, I think it’s very good for me as a coach. When you are working outside Mohun Bagan, you can see how the level of the players is. But when you are working with them two months now, you can see how they are as professionals and as persons. I am very lucky to work here.”

Following the early exit in the Super Cup, Molina was sacked days soon after saying he had no hand signing players. “Every time we play against teams with foreign midfielders, we cannot control the possession of the ball, and we have to defend too much. I tried to sign a foreign midfielder, but it was impossible,” Molina had said in November.

Since joining FC Goa in 2017, this is Lobera’s fourth club in India. He won the Super Cup at Goa, the ISL double at Mumbai City FC and took Odisha FC to the inter-zonal semi-finals of the AFC Cup where they lost 0-4 on aggregate to Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.

A difficult time for football in India meant “being in pre-season” with no competition and that was not easy, he said. Bar the quality of opposition in practice games, preparation has been adequate and the players are hungry, he said. ISL12 is scheduled to start on February 14 with Mohun Bagan hosting Kerala Blasters as per the draft fixtures.

“Maybe in other clubs, they have more problems than us.” Lobera did not elaborate but months of uncertainty have led to rosters being depleted and players asked to take salary cuts at a number of clubs.

The 13-match single-leg round-robin format, as opposed to 24 matches home and away followed by knockout rounds, means the margin for mistakes will be less, he said.

No introduction to the media for a coach or player at Mohun Bagan or East Bengal is complete without being probed about the derby. “It’s very easy for me to tell you that it’s about three points, one game more. But it’s not true. Everyone knows what it means to our supporters to win one game like this. Hopefully, we can. Also, we can win the trophy,” he said.

Ashish Rai likely out for season

Lobera said right-back Ashish Rai could miss the rest of the season. “He has a big injury. Most probably, we are not going to be able to use him during all of the season.” Rai suffered a knee injury recently.