Marquez and Co will want to forget the Intercontinental Cup, quick

It must have been a rude jolt for Manolo Marquez, the Spanish coach who took over the reins of Indian football, as the Blue Tigers ended an insipid campaign in the Intercontinental Cup in Hyderabad on Monday, 9 September.

The 3–0 routing from Syria only compounded the team's woes after a goalless draw against Mauritius at the outset. Marquez called the element of ‘fear’ in India's performance in the second game "unacceptable".

While the lack of preparation time for this three-team tournament is being touted as a key reason behind the Blue Tigers' lack of cohesion, the team’s decision-making once inside the rival penalty box has been appalling ever since the retirement of former skipper Sunil Chettri.

‘’We need to keep going after a defeat. I know it’s difficult, but the only solution is to keep working,’’ Marquez says, as he tried to keep the collective chin up.

There is hardly any time for introspection left though, what with the Indian Super League (ISL) set to begin in three days’ time. Marquez must quickly slip into the role of Goa FC manager for the season now.

Replying to that inevitable question around preparation time, however, Marquez says, ‘’Obviously, I think every coach wants to train more. It’s difficult when you don’t have too many training sessions. I said earlier that we need to find the correct group of players to adapt to our idea. This is the target because the ISL will start now and we will see how the players are.’’

Next on the agenda for Marquez and the Blue Tigers is the tri-nation friendly tournament in Vietnam in October. There, India will face the hosts on October 9 and Lebanon on October 12, both higher-ranked sides, at the Thiên Trường Stadium in the city of Nam Định.

The ISL, meanwhile, will take a break for the next FIFA international match window from 6 October.

Marquez expects the physical condition of his men will be better for the next trip, as it will be in the middle of the domestic season.

There is no doubt that the Spaniard would like to forget this tournament in a hurry, though.

‘’It was a difficult tournament in all aspects,’’ Marquez says.

‘’The team is not ready physically. All our players are in pre-season. Physically and technically, Syria were better.

‘’Against Mauritius, the game was very equal while today, the second half was okay. We deserved to score a goal. 3–0 isn’t a fair reflection at all.’’

‘’The second half was the only positive. Against Mauritius, we didn’t play a good game, and in the first half of this game, the team was very scared, especially in the first few minutes.’’

It certainly was a drab affair against Mauritius that left Marquez unimpressed. India put together a better offensive against 93-ranked Syria, but only in the second half.

Unsurprisingly, their Spanish coach was rather livid at his men’s panicky display in the opening minutes, which ultimately cost India as they were made to chase from start to finish after conceding as early as the seventh minute.

Although India came out rejuvenated after the break, they couldn’t breach the Syrian fortress and their debutant goalkeeper Elias Hadaya.

While Marquez had cause to be somewhat pleased that his side had more attack in them in those 45 minutes than they did in the previous three halves of football combined, it hardly made any difference in the end.