Manolo Marquez roped in as new head coach of Indian football team

The AIFF on Saturday, July 20 confirmed Manolo Marquez as the new Indian men's senior team coach. Marquez, who is the current FC Goa coach, will succeed Igor Stimac who had been sacked after India crashing out of the World Cup qualifiers.

Marquez will continue his duties as the FC Goa and Indian football team coach concurrently throughout the 2024-25 season before his contract with the ISL side runs out. After this, Marquez will shift his full attention towards the national side.

AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey expressed his happiness at roping in the Spanish tactician for the job and also thanked FC Goa for their generosity in releasing him. Marquez said it was an honour for him to be the new coach of the Indian team and said India is his second home. The new India head coach said he would do his best to bring success to the fans.

Marquez has been coaching in India since 2020, leading two Indian Super League (ISL) clubs during his tenure. He began with Hyderabad FC, where he served from 2020 to 2023 and notably won the ISL Cup in the 2021-22 season. Following his success with Hyderabad, he moved to FC Goa in 2023, where he is currently the head coach.