Who is Manolo Marquez —the new head coach of Indian football team

FP Sports • July 21, 2024, 14:39:06 IST

Manolo Marquez on Saturday took over as head coach of the Indian football team from Igor Stimac, who was sacked after India failed to qualify for the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. read more

Who is Manolo Marquez —the new head coach of Indian football team

Manolo Marquez will take over as new head coach of the Indian football team, replacing Igor Stimac. ISL Media

Manolo Marquez was on Saturday officially appointed as the new head coach of the India men’s football team. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced the development following an Executive Committee meeting that was held in New Delhi on Saturday.

Marquez replaces former head coach Igor Stimac, who was sacked after India failed to progress to the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.

So, who is Manolo Marquez and which teams has he previously coached?

Manolo Marquez is a former defender from Spain who never played international football for his country. He has in fact never played in any of the highest levels of domestic football, having only played for lower division clubs by Horta, Martinenc and Badalona.

The 55 year-old, though, has immense experience of coaching football clubs in Spain. He began his managerial career with PB Anguera n 2002. He then followed it up with spells at AE Prat and CE Europa, which are lower division clubs, before taking over as manager of reputed clubs like Espanyol B side and Las Palmas between 2013 and 2018.

After club football managerial stints in Croatia and Thailand, the Barcelona-born former footballer moved to India in 2020, where he took over as manager of ISL side Hyderabad FC. He spent three years with Hyderabad FC, guiding the team to their maiden ISL title in 2022, beating Kerala Blasters on penalties in the final.

Marquez parted ways with Hyderabad FC at the end of the 2022-23 season, where they lost to Mohun Bagan in the semi-finals. Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Marquez was named the new head coach of FC Goa, overseeing a 12-match unbeaten run at the start of the season before finishing the league stage in third place. FC Goa reached the semi-finals of the ISL last season where they lost to eventual champions Mumbai City FC.

The Spaniard will continue to work with FC Goa and the India football team concurrently during the 2024-25 season, before taking up as India head coach on a full-time basis after the domestic season.