Shillong Lajong FC today announced the return of Jose Carlos Rodriguez Hevia to the team as the new head coach.
At the same time, the club revealed that the incumbent coach, Bobby Lyngdoh Nongbet, will focus on the youth aspect as head of youth development.
Rodriguez was with Lajong for most of 2019, appointed as technical director but it was he who led the team to victory in the Shillong Premier League (SPL) and Meghalaya State League (MSL) that year. His larger than life personality and booming voice made him a fan favourite but he was also able to deliver results on the pitch.
The Covid-19 pandemic got in the way of the last months of his contract in mid-2020 and he subsequently returned home to Spain before coming back to India as head coach of Kolkata’s Mohammedan Sporting. That appointment, however, lasted only a few months before he and the club parted ways.
No mention was made by Lajong about when the Spaniard will officially take charge but SLFC will take part in the Durand Cup 2024 in a couple of weeks’ time and then will come the I-League and Super Cup from October.
Lajong were aiming for a Top 5 finish to I-League 2023-24, their first season back in the tournament since 2018-19, but could only finish eighth.
They got back there under the guidance of Nongbet, who steered a young bunch of boys through I-League 2. The I-League proper is a different ball game, though, and Nongbet is also a full-fledged employee of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs Department and is currently the Ri-Bhoi District Sports Officer, making all these roles a challenge to juggle. His reputation as a top of the line youth coach means that Lajong will not be letting him go, however, and he will lead the club’s youth development programme.
With no local football during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, SLFC looked to defend their SPL and MSL titles in 2022 and 2023 respectively but fell short. Despite making it back to the I-League, Lajong have been unable to dominate locally since Rodriguez left, finishing SPL 2022 in fourth and going out of MSL 2023 and SPL 2023 in the semifinal rounds. The focus for the Spaniard will surely be the I-League, however, with the goal of promotion to the Indian Super League paramount.
