New head coach Manolo looks to juggle between Blue Tigers, Goa FC

Manolo Marquez, the new Spanish head coach of senior men’s national team, will have a tough balancing act to follow – that of juggling between guiding the Blue Tigers and the ISL team Goa FC for the 2024-25 season. However, the 55-year-old journeyman, who has taken over the hot seat from Croat Igor Stimac, is confident of handling both for the time being.

“It's true that this situation is not normal, but they are manageable,’’ Manolo said at his first press conference in the capital on Sunday after signing on the dotted lines with the management of All India Football Federation (AIFF). ‘’It’s not the first time that the same person will coach a national team and a club together. There are many examples from the past of this happening in not just foreign countries but India as well.

“The matches are not at the same time. When the national team plays, there’s a break in the ISL so that can be shared. In the first few weeks, there will be a lot of work. But it's my passion and I know it won’t be a problem. Obviously, both jobs are about professionalism. And you won't have any doubt about it because we will work very hard for the national team,’’ he said.

The assignment is easier said than done, as his Croat predecessor will testify, as Stimac had repeated fallen in the bad books of ISL owners FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited) by asking for more preparation time for the national team to prepare for major tournaments. Much to Manolo’s advantage though, he had been no stranger to the ecosystem of Indian football, having been at the helm of ISL teams for five years.

Márquez first landed in India ahead of the 2020-21 ISL season to take charge of Hyderabad FC and guided them to a title in his very second season. “I have felt the connection in India from day one, since my first training session with Hyderabad FC. My connection with the Indian players is very nice. It's true that we spent two seasons in a bubble inside the hotel and spent a lot of time speaking.’’

India were knocked out of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup after defeat in Qatar in June, which led the unceremonious sacking of Stimac. Márquez’s first major competition then will be qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The qualifiers are set to begin in March 2025 in which 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each, with the winner progressing to the final tournament in Saudi Arabia.

The draw for the qualifiers will take place in December and it will be important for India to keep their place in Pot 1 so as to achieve a favourable draw. Manolo will have friendly matches three Fifa International Match Windows (September, October and November) to utilise before the qualifiers. It all begins with the Intercontinental Cup in September where India will face Mauritius and Syria in Hyderabad, followed by matches against Lebanon and hosts Vietnam in the Tri-Nation tournament in October.

“The target now is obviously to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup if we speak about competitions. The target is also to improve the level of the Indian players in this case, to reach the next step individually and as a team. We need to improve. I don’t like to speak about the ranking because sometimes statistics don’t show the true picture.

‘’Everyone knows that progress takes time but in this case, it depends on the attitude of everyone -- players, federation, staff, coaches. We all need to go in the same direction and then I am completely sure that we will get good results.’’