The tactician will succeed Renedy Singh, who was interim manager for three days following the departure of Jose Manuel Diaz.
Kolkata-based club SC East Bengal have on Saturday announced the appointment of Mario Rivera as head coach for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
On December 28, the club’s board sacked Jose Manuel Diaz due to a horrible start to the season. Former captain of the Indian football side Renedy Singh then took over as interim coach and will now be succeeded by the Spaniard.
Rivera has also been previously involved with SC East Bengal, having done extremely well to guide the side to a second-place finish in the I-League a couple of seasons prior. His prior achievements, and his familiarity with the club have definitely had a decisive role in his appointment as head coach for the remainder of the season.
A UEFA-licensed coaching professional, Rivera had only seven games to take East Bengal to second place in his previous stint.
Apart from the seven games for which he was in charge, Rivera also worked with the previous manager Alejandro Menendez, as an assistant coach for 32 games in the 2018-19 season, before eventually being asked to take over Menendez’ position. Quite well versed with the nitty gritties of Indian football, the appointment of Rivera looks to be a well-thought-out one at first glance.
As per COVID protocol, Rivera will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine after arriving in India, following which he will take the reins at East Bengal.
East Bengal are scheduled to face Bengaluru FC and Mumbai City FC in their next two ISL fixtures (January 4 & 7, respectively), after which Rivera will be available to take over.
