Manolo Marquez was named the new head coach of the Indian men’s football team by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday. He will succeed Igor Stimac, who was dismissed after India’s disappointing exit from the World Cup qualifiers.
Marquez, currently the head coach of FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL), will continue to manage the club throughout the 2024-25 season while also handling his new responsibilities with the national team.
The AIFF confirmed that Marquez, a 55-year-old Spaniard, will take over the national team immediately but will juggle both roles until the end of the 2024-25 season. After this period, he will focus exclusively on coaching the Indian national team.
“We are delighted to welcome Mr. Marquez to this important role and are also thankful to FC Goa for their generosity of releasing him for national duty,” AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said.
Manolo Marquez appointed head coach of Senior Men’s National Team!
Read full details here 👉🏻 https://t.co/iUUMAwB8vk#IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Ni9beyul8B
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 20, 2024
“It’s an honour for me to be the national football team coach of India, a country I consider my second home. India and its people are something I feel attached to and I feel a part of since I first came to this beautiful country,” Marquez said following his appointment.
“I am very grateful to FC Goa for allowing us the flexibility to help the national team during the coming season while I am still the club’s head coach. I’m grateful to the AIFF for this opportunity and we hope to do great things for football,” he added.
Marquez will assume the role of full-time head coach for the national team after the ISL 2024-25 season concludes.
Marquez has been coaching in India since 2020, starting with Hyderabad FC from 2020 to 2023, where he led the team to an ISL Cup victory in the 2021-22 season. In 2023, he transitioned to FC Goa, where he currently coaches. Before his time in India, Marquez had a rich coaching career in Spain, managing teams like Las Palmas in the top division and Las Palmas B, Espanyol B, Badalona, Prat, and Europa in the third division.
