Atlético de Kolkata announces the signing of José Molina as the Head Coach for the upcoming season of Indian Super League

José Molina has rich experience managing teams like Getafe B, Villarreal C, Villarreal B, Villarreal, and Kitchee ~

~ Made appearances in 415 La Liga matches ~

~ Featured in 189 matches for Atlético de Madrid as a goal keeper and also played for Deportivo de La Coruña, Valencia and Levante ~

Chandigarh, 3rd May, 2016: The Champions of the inaugural edition of ISL and the Semi-finalists of second edition, Atlético de Kolkata announced today the appointment of José Francisco Molina Jiménez as their Head Coach, for the third and upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. José Molina represented his national side Spain at the 1998 World Cup and two European Championships in 1996 and 2000. Molina's club career was intimately related with Atlético de Madrid, for whom he featured for 189 matches over a period of five years as the Goal Keeper. As a player, Molina went on to win the La Liga and Copa Del Rey titles with Atlético de Madrid in their famous 1995-96 season before joining Deportivo de La Coruña with whom he lifted the Copa Del Rey trophy. Molina had been the manager of teams like Getafe B, Villarreal C, Villarreal B, Villarreal, and Kitchee.

“I welcome José Molina into our Atlético de Kolkata family. Molina’s experience with leading clubs of Spain and other parts of the world makes him an ideal candidate to take our on field performance few notches higher in his forthcoming assignment. He will be instrumental in building the team’s strategy and help us select some good prospective footballers for the upcoming season. We wish him all the success and I am definitely sure that he will showcase the finest quality of football under his able guidance that has become synonymous to Atlético de Kolkata.“

- Mr. Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman RP- Sanjiv Goenka Group, Co-owner, Atlético de Kolkata

PROFILE: José Francisco Molina Jiménez

José Francisco Molina Jiménez played as a goalkeeper, where he spent 11 years of his professional career at Atlético Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña. Over the course of 14 seasons, he appeared in 415 La Liga matches. Molina represented national side Spain for four years and played during the World Cup in 1998 and two European Championships in 1996 and 2000. With Atletico de Madrid, Molina went on to win Copa del Rey before joining Deportivo de La Coruña with whom he once again lifted the Copa Del Rey trophy. José Molina has been successful manager for clubs like Villarreal B and C divisions, Getafe B divisions and Kitchee (one of the most talked about teams from Hong Kong). In his short one year stint in Hong Kong, Molina managed to achieve a remarkable domestic treble with the Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup and he guided Kitchee to the AFC Cup quarter finals.

About Atlético de Kolkata:

Atlético de Kolkata is the winner of the first edition of Indian Super League and semi-finalists of the second edition. The franchise’s dedication and commitment towards a sustainable growth of football is on top of its agenda. Atlético de Kolkata leverages on the over 100-year experience of Atlético de Madrid’s sporting model of academies which enables them to recognize and empower talent from the very grassroots. The franchise has Atlético de Madrid, Mr. Sourav Ganguly, Ex-captain, Indian cricket team, and President, Cricket Association of Bengal, notable industrialists and luminaries Mr. Sanjiv Goenka,Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group; Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group and Mr. Utsav Parekh, Chairman, SMIFS Capital Markets Ltd as its co-owners.