ISL 2022-23: Always felt I could come back to Odisha FC – Josep Gombau

Odisha FC head coach Josep Gombau has admitted that he always felt he could come back to the club. The Spanish football manager revealed he always liked the culture of the team and shares a special bond with the support staff as well as the players.

The Spaniard had earlier served a two-year stint with the Kalinga Warriors and he is now all set for a second chapter with the club.

“Even the day that I was leaving, I was thinking, one day I will come back here because I enjoyed a lot and in the league, and I liked a lot the people here,” Gombau said during the latest episode of LFL Twitter Spaces podcast.

“What I also liked a lot was the desire the players showed to grow and how the players wanted to work. The Indian players are hard workers. they want to learn, they want to grow and I like to work with this kind of people and players,” he added.

Odisha FC was one of the busiest clubs during the off-season and Gombau will look to get the best out of his players in the upcoming season.

In fact, the signs are promising for the Juggernauts as they had a good run in the Durand Cup, winning four out of their four matches in Group D of the tournament. However, they were knocked out after they were beaten by Bengaluru FC by 2-1 in the quarterfinal clash.

Odisha FC has also roped in the services of goalkeeper Amrinder Singh ahead of the new season.

“Amrinder is a very good goalkeeper and we were looking for someone like him after Kamaljit joined East Bengal. He is a leader and will improve our team,” said Gombau on his latest acquisition.

Odisha FC will kick off their Hero Indian Super League 2022-23 campaign against Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur on 11th October.