A winless year, change of coaches: Is there hope for Indian football yet?

A 1-1 draw against Malaysia in the international friendly on Monday, 19 November, meant India have now ended the year winless from 11 matches. Stark reality, yes, as the euphoria around Indian football last year looks like a distant dream and the Blue Tigers have now slipped to 125 in Fifa rankings.

It’s been exactly a decade since the senior national team finished without a win in 2014 though they had just played two games on that occasion. History says it’s only the fourth occasion in the new millennium that they have endured such a dubious record – the first being in 2002 when they played out a draw and a loss against Jamaica while in 2006, they faced six defeats and a draw.

The number of matches on the earlier occasions were significantly less and the common refrain was that the team were starved of match practice, something which was not the case this time. While nobody was expecting a miracle from the squad in the AFC Asian Cup finals in Qatar in January where they lost against three higher-ranked teams in Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria, but their inability to score in the next eight games had been rather galling.

Chettri's farewell

Here is a quick recap: they ended up with an away draw against Afghanistan in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers and were rather shoddy in the return leg in Guwahati to lose the game. There was enough chance of redemption in Sunil Chettri’s farewell game in a choc-a-bloc Salt Lake Stadium against Kuwait in Kolkata but India failed to break down their defence to end with a goalless draw.

However, their best moment came against Qatar in the last must-win group game in Doha to make it to the third round of the qualifiers when up by a goal, they were literally ‘robbed’ by a controversial goal by the gulf nation. The All India Football Federation (AIFF), which were waiting for an opportune moment to show head coach Igor Stimac the door as they needed a scapegoat – though the Croatian World Cupper had the last laugh as the former had to cough up a hefty compensation to him in terms of salary.

Enter Spaniard Manolo Marquez, a seasoned manager, as a compromise candidate and his balance sheet so far reads a draw each against Mauritius, Vietnam and Malaysia and a heavy defeat to Syria. There is no magic recipe in Manolo’s hands when India resume their campaign for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers next March as he has to manage the expectations in his dual capacity as the Goa FC coach and India’s prospects, lack of preparation time together and of course, potential injuries.

 A disappointed Manolo, whose personality is an anti-thesis to the fiery Stimac, wanted to dwell on the so called positives though the odds seem stacked against his men. ‘’We are disappointed not to win but I am sure we will qualify for the Asian Cup in 2027,’’ he said, before adding: ‘’Now we have four months. I know that it’s been a while since the national team have won a game, but we will win in March.’’

 An air of optimism is the only way to fire the boys but one doesn’t have to be a pundit to understand that scoring goals had been a critical area where the team had been floundering – while there is no answer to the quest for a replacement for Chettri. Despite the presence of the ageing India captain in first six of the 11 games this year, India had scored only two goals from open play during the entire year – a telltale piece of statistics.

 ‘’My opinion is that the improvement is there. The important thing is to score. At least we understand what we want to do,’’ Manolo observed.

It’s a given that a striker with Chettri’s clarity of thinking and skillsets inside the rival box is difficult to find and this is where the team has to score with a collective wisdom – and not to depend on a Number Nine. This is a point which Stimac had repeatedly raised whenever he was thrown the usual question of ‘who after Chettri?’

 While Manolo is ending the year in pursuit of his first win, he is not averse to trying out debutants to make their mark to build a team which is in a transitional mode. Ifran Yadwad, the sturdy Chennaiyin FC striker, took his bow in the starting XI against Malaysia while four others came in later. This is the only way to go to bring up homegrown talent – especially under an ecosystem where the Indian Super League (ISL) teams prefer overseas recruits in key positions like the quintessential striker, playmakers and often central defenders.

It’s anybody’s guess if Manolo’s moves will bear fruit, but one has to keep trying on!