Manolo Marquez Succeeds Igor Stimac As New India Football Team Head Coach

Marquez's appointment comes almost a month after the sacking of Igor Stimac who was at the helm of the Indian team for last five years.

Marquez who hails from Spain joined FC Goa in 2023 and will continue at the club till 2025. As per the AIFF release, the Spaniard will hold both India and FC Goa position concurrently and will join the Indian team full time once his contract with the ISL club expires.

Marquez has been coaching in India since 2020 when he joined FC Hyderabad, a team he led to the ISL Cup before joining FC Goa.

Reacting to the development, the 55-year-old said he felt honoured to coach a country that he considers his second home.

“It's an honour for me to be the National Football Team coach of India, a country I consider my second home," said Marquez. "India and its people are something I feel attached to and I feel a part of since I first came to this beautiful country. I want to do my best to bring success to the millions of fans we have."

The Spaniard also expressed gratitude to FC Goa for allowing him the flexibility.

"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.”

Marquez has been in managerial roles since 2002 and his coaching portfolio includes stints in Spain – Las Palmas (top division) and Las Palmas B, Espanyol B, Badalona, Prat, Europa (third division).

The decision was taken at the Executive Committee meeting of the AIFF, chaired by federation president Kalyan Chaubey held at Football House in New Delhi on Saturday.