Sergio Lobera interview: 'Winning is the most important thing, but it's also important how we are winning'

Mumbai City FC have never been short of big names in their roster. If first season saw the likes of Freddie Ljungberg and Nicolas Anelka take the field for the franchise, the following year Anelka took over managerial duties while Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri and Sony Norde were in the squad. The club also managed to sign Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan in 2016. Yet, success eluded the franchise in the Indian Super League. Until 2021. Mumbai City FC won the ISL title in their seventh season in a year that the club also clinched the ISL League Winner’s Shield, which earned them a spot in the AFC Champions League. The man at the centre of engineering Mumbai City FC’s twin successes, the enigmatic Sergio Lobera, is known to set up his team to play possession-based attacking football. While Lobera has previously managed in the ISL with FC Goa, his task at Mumbai was cut out as he was announced as manager by Mumbai only in October 2020, just over a month of the new season starting in a bio-secure bubble. Firstpost spoke to him in December about what shaped his philosophy, how his footballing style evolved over the years, whether he believes winning the right way is more important than winning, his definition of success and a lot more. Excerpts: You are known for the style of play your teams display, and your philosophy. What shaped this idea that you want your teams to play in this way? I started at FC Barcelona, so obviously my footballing education came from there. I’ve always believed in the philosophy that it is possible to win and possible to entertain people (at the same time). I want fans to enjoy my teams play during the 90 minutes, not only when the game is over. I always felt that that’s the way to win, by playing attacking football. It’s also good for the team, because players enjoy playing this style of football. It’s good for the supporters. You’ve been in India for over three years — first as manager of FC Goa and now as Mumbai City FC boss. Have you had to evolve your philosophy a little bit due to what you’ve seen with the Indian Super League?    Obviously, it is not easy — I’ve worked in three different countries so far — getting your teams to try and play the same way. Always I try to get my teams to play in the same way. I get my players to adapt, but the most important thing is that the players (need to) believe in this style of football. This is very important. As a coach it gets easy only if the players believe in this. Obviously, it is not easy to implement a newer style of play in two weeks or one month. It takes some time. As you know, it was not the same for my FC Goa teams in the first season and the second season and the third season. So we had a big challenge, because we had a short time in pre-season to prepare the team. The other challenge is the short time between games. But this is my job as a coach. It is very important to implement a newer style of play, but also very important to win. How important is winning the right way for you? Is it more important than actually winning? (Winning) is the most important thing. As a coach when you’re working in a big project such as Mumbai City FC, obviously the most important thing is to win, but for us, and me as a coach, the most important thing is how we are winning. If you put your focus only on winning maybe you will lose (more games than if you focus on how you’re winning). As a professional coach, you also need your team to win, because your job depends on this. Mumbai City FC and City Football Group have made a big effort to build a very good team. We have to implement a newer style of play, but the most important thing, finally, is to win also. You mentioned that your early stint with Barcelona shaped your philosophy. But are there some people also who inspired you to get your teams to play this way? Starting my career with FC Barcelona, I started at a club with a good philosophy. City Football Group (which owns Manchester City FC, Mumbai City FC among other clubs around the world) is now a reference around the world. Manchester City under Pep Guardiola have shown that it is possible to build a winning team even when playing this kind of football in a difficult league like the Premier League. This is the best example for the 10 franchises that the CFG have. For Mumbai City, Manchester City and Guardiola are our example to follow. Is there a lot of maneuverability in your style of play? Do you tell your teams to change your tactics depending on what situation they are in the game? Let’s say your team is leading 1-0 and there are just 10 minutes left, would you ask your team to defend in numbers or not attack so much?    You need to have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. You need to think of different scenario because every day is a big challenge. There are a lot of injuries in our teams. You need to change players between one game to the other. But it is very important to be loyal to our style of play. In the first game against NorthEast United FC, before the red card happened, it seemed like their team was only set up to frustrate you by defending in numbers. When you see a rival team using those tactics, how do you work around it while still maintaining your style of play?   I think it’s the best way (to play in our style of play). The problem is when you’re not loyal to your style of playing. You want to win the game with pressure. It’s very important for 11 players to know the way to try and play for a win. When players make individual decisions because you think it is possible to win the game by themselves, it’s a big problem. When you want to win the league, you have to adapt to play against different styles of play. A lot of teams will set up to play defensively but we need to try and solve this problem, gain more spaces, have mobility in attacking positions, try and recover the ball faster near the opponent’s goal… we’re working in different ways, but be loyal to our style of play. For many coaches in the ISL, teams are already picked before they have been appointed. In Mumbai at least you had the option of bringing in four players from Goa. But when you already have players picked for you, how do you convince them to play in your style of play? The profile of the players we have suits our philosophy. When I am picking a club, I always try and choose a club where it is possible to implement my idea. If the club believes in the idea, it’s easy to relay it to the players. The players want to play this style of football, they enjoy when the team has the ball, when you’re dominate the game, when they create chances and score goals. It’s easier because of the attitude of players to learn some new thing every day. The players are ready to listen and apply it on the field. Has it ever happened to you that your team has won but you have still been unhappy because they didn’t play the way you wanted them to play? I will be happy. Sometimes you can win not playing well. These situations happen just one time. If you want to win the league, you have to think in the long term. If you’re playing far from the way you want to play, maybe you can win one time, but I am sure that it’s not possible to win more games. How do you define success in football? When everybody knows and speaks about your style of football. You win titles, win trophies, win games…it’s very important. But I’m proud that in India people recognise our style of football. I think when you win the respect of people, not only because you’re winning, it’s very important for me.