The choice was between family business — a steel factory in Zizurkil, a town in Northern Spain — and the football field. Kibu Vicuna opted for the latter.

Exactly a week after guiding Mohun Bagan to the I-League title, the Spaniard, 48, sat down with The Telegraph on Tuesday for a chat on football and beyond.

Excerpts...

• The Telegraph: Given the Covid-19 pandemic, how are your family members back home?

Vicuna: So far they are well. My parents are in San Sebastian and brothers are in Pamplona in Spain. My wife, Kasia Bielecka, is in Warsaw, Poland. But the situation is exceptional. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope everything would be all right. The situation in Spain is not good. My father Jose Antonio is 82-years old, I am more concerned about him.

• You came here in June last year, how has been the journey so far?

From the very beginning, I was very comfortable here. May be the weather was different, then the monsoon came, the culture and the style of football is different, but I could feel the charm of the city from my early days.

• What has been the pressure like as the Bagan coach?

If you are a coach, you would be always under pressure. Here, it is no different. I didn’t feel any extra pressure.

• What was your first target as Bagan’s coach?

I always tried to build a team. It was not easy in the beginning but together we achieve our goal. I give everybody equal importance. I tried to keep everybody happy, as it is in a family. I tried to form a mentally strong team. In difficult situations, mental toughness matters and we have shown that.

• Who is your favourite coach?

Pep Guardiola… I like his style of coaching.

• You couldn’t win any trophy before the I-League. How did you handle that?

I stuck to my style of play and didn’t panic too much. I always had confidence in my squad. I knew we would do well in the I-League, and I was proved right.

• But you didn’t start the league well…

We didn’t win the first two matches, but we played well. Yes, we lost our second game against Churchill Brothers 2-4 at home, but it was one of our best games in the league. At the same time you have to remember we scored a goal after playing 23 passes against the same opponents in the return leg. We beat them 3-0 at their den. One of the most satisfying things for me is the fact that we beat all the teams in the league. We have scored goals from two-three passes as well. It proves we played according to the situation, which is most important for a team.

• Do you think the match against Real Kashmir in Srinagar was the turning point of your team?

In a way, you can say that. The match was very tough for us. The conditions were different, it was very cold there in early January, we played on artificial turf, Real Kashmir are a very tough side to beat in their home. After that win, we accelerated and our performance graph went higher.

• Do you think lady-luck favoured you in Srinagar?

(Smiles) I know why you are saying this. Yes, my wife Kasia always inspires me. She went to Srinagar with us. We didn’t get much time for ourselves except for one afternoon when we went around Srinagar. She liked one pashmina and I gifted that to her. With her, I have an advantage, she is also associated with football. She is La Liga’s ambassador in Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic countries. So she understands my job and me well. We were supposed to meet end of this month but now it is not possible.

• When did you first meet Kasia?

She came to study in Pamplona, we met and now we have been together for last eight years. It’s an interesting story. I am Spanish, she is Polish and one Irishman, Eoin Tuckey, helped us come closer. Eoin is our common friend and one day he told me that Kasia wanted to meet me. I took her phone number from Eoin, fixed an appointment and met her. Both of us like to travel and explore. When she was here, we went to a good restaurant on Park Street, we went to Mother House and Victoria Memorial as well. She liked this city.

• How did your journey as a coach start?

I first coached a team when I was only 16. My teacher at the El Redin school, Pedro Matas, took me out of the class one autumn morning and asked me to train the junior players of the school. That’s how it all started. Later on, I used to play for the University of Navarra and coach the junior players. One day our University team coach, Goyo Maneru, had to take leave for personal reasons and he asked me to take charge of the team. In my last season in the university, I coached players like Raul Garcia, Nacho Monreal, Jon Erice and Oier Sanjurjo. I still have good relations with them. When I was in charge of the Osasuna youth team, current Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta trained under me. He sent me a congratulatory message after we became I-League champions.

• What was the toughest decision you had to take during your stint at Bagan?

It was to release Salva Chamorro. He was a very good striker but after the tournament in Bangladesh, his confidence level was not very good, he was down mentally. So we decided to bring in Baba Diawara in place of Salva. And it worked for the team.

• ATK and Mohun Bagan will officially merge on June 1 and would play as one entity in ISL from next season. What will be your future?

I don’t know what will happen next at this point in time. I have a contract with the club till the end of April. I don’t know whether I will come to India again or go back to Spain or any other country in Europe. But whatever happens, I will always remember my stint in Bagan, The situation is difficult for the officials as well. The two teams are going to merge and both are champion teams. The situation is exceptional, just like Covid-19. However, my bonding with the club would stay forever. The love and affection I have got from the Bagan fans will always stay with me. I will remain a Mariner for the rest of my life.

• Would you join East Bengal if you get an offer from them?

I don’t think that is a possibility. But I don’t want to talk much about the future.

• Do you think former East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia should not have resigned?

First of all, I would like to say he is a very good coach. But what was the exact reason behind his resignation that I don’t know. . We used to share a very good relationship and after I came to know that he is leaving the city, I sent him a text message and wished him for the future. He was the best coach of the I-League in December and in the very next month he resigned. It did come as a surprise to me.

• You are very close with current Sevilla FC coach Julen Lopetegui…

He is a bit senior to me and a good friend of my elder brother, Marcelino. Actually, his parents and my parents were friends. They used to travel together during vacations. When he was in charge of FC Porto, I went to Porto and watched his style of coaching from close for two weeks. When he was in charge of the Spanish national team, then also we used to talk about a lot of things almost regularly. After I came here, he wanted to know about the interest level about the game here.

• How do you spend your time off the field?

I go to the gym, watch movies, swim and play badminton. Most of the time though, I watch football matches. I have read Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open more than once, it is inspirational. I liked Guardiola’s autobiography — Another Way of Winning — too. I read psychology and management books. Sometimes, I read newspapers. I also worked as a journalist earlier in my life. I did a management course from Bournemouth University. I went there to learn better English. By the way, I forgot to tell you, Back to Africa is my favourite movie. I like to cook. Yesterday, I cooked salmon with Oyster sauce.

• Who is your favourite badminton player?

Carolina Marin is my favourite player, she is a world champion and Spanish too, so I support her. I enjoy the rivalry between PV Sindhu and Marin. Sindhu is also a very good player.

• Do you think Barcelona will win the Spanish league this year?

I think Real Madrid will fight well till the end. They are just two points behind table-toppers Barcelona and both the teams have 11 matches left. It would be an interesting fight. I am a big fan of the Spanish league, I do not watch English Premier League much. I like La Liga because my wife works for the league (laughs).