Indian Super League (ISL) outfit FC Pune City, who had acted swiftly to replace outgoing head coach Ranko Popovic with renowned Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta, have been dealt a blow ahead of the upcoming season.
Reports state that Paqueta is set to join Brazilian Serie A club Botafogo despite having agreed to a deal with Pune City. Paqueta is expected to have communicated his decision to leave to the Pune City management and is waiting to be released.
The news will come as a bitter blow for the Orange and Purple brigade who have now been forced to search for an alternative.
Paqueta was a youth team coach at Flamengo for a long time and has been credited with honing many a talent who made it to the senior team from the academy. He also had a short spell with Fluminense in between.
Famously, he coached Brazil to U17 World Cup and the U20 World Cup in 2003. Following that, however, the 58-year-old coach has been on quite a coaching journey in the middle east.
Interestingly, Botafogo has a couple of players who were a part of his Brazil U17 team which won the World Cup in goalkeeper Jéfferson and midfielder Dudu Cearense.
When Goal contacted Pune City CEO Gaurav Modwel, he stated, "This development has been brought to my notice only now and I will be speaking to the coach to clarify."
FC Pune City were forced to change their plans just before the start of the previous season as well, with the club parting ways with Antonio Habas and appointing Ranko Popovic.
