Panaji: Manolo Marquez admits he was ‘arrogant’ in thinking everything would go according to plan with the national football team. A win at home against Bangladesh, a long preparatory camp for the second qualifier and then full-time as India coach. But even before the FC Goa coach could fully step into the role, he knew his time was over. The experienced Spaniard explains what went wrong with his one-year stint as India coach in this exclusive interview with TOI. Excerpts…
How would you describe the year that you spent with the national team?
Difficult. After four years in India, it was my dream to become the national team coach, but if you look at the results (one win from eight games), there’s little I can say. I accept maximum responsibility.
Looking back, do you have any regrets, possibly because this may leave a blot on your coaching career?
In my first press conference in Delhi, I said that I wanted to find the correct group (of players). I never found that. In eight games, across five FIFA international windows, I called up 49 players, 42 of whom had previously played internationally for at least one minute. My only regret is that I could not find the correct group to work with. There were lot of challenges; some players, for example, arrived in better shape than the others.
Would it be any different if you just coached India and not continued with FC Goa?
I had two jobs (club and country), which is not very common. But there were a lot of cases in world football. The reality is that things did not work with the national team and worked with Goa (finishing second in ISL and winning the Super Cup). I tried to do everything in the best interest of the national team.
You hold yourself primarily responsible for the results, but did you get enough support from the federation, support staff, players, administrators?
Could the federation do better? Yes. The staff? Yes. The players? Yes. It’s not about pointing fingers. The reality is that we didn’t choose the correct players, at the correct moment. We didn’t convert clear chances, but that’s part of football. I am grateful to the federation because they gave me this opportunity. But things were not working, and I was certain that I didn’t want to continue after the fourth FIFA window (in March 2025) in Shillong. I told myself, ‘this is not the place for me.’ I informed the federation (verbally), but the time was too short to find a replacement.
Manolo Marquez has had successful spells with Hyderabad FC and FC Goa but his India assignment did not go as planned
Would you say the same if results were different? Like a win against Bangladesh at home, and Hong Kong away, in the
Yes, I was very clear, 200%. I was convinced. I wanted to defeat Hong Kong and leave when India is on top, or at least level (with the group leaders). Subrata (Paul, director of the national team) is new to this job. I don’t know if he is ready, but he wants to help. I had good conversations with Subrata and (AIFF president) Kalyan Chaubey.
Was it a wrong time for you to take charge of the national team?
You can never choose. I must say in some moments, I was arrogant. When I accepted a dual role, I knew the international fixtures. I thought some friendlies (for preparations), then a game against Bangladesh at home which we will win. Then a long training camp before the Hong Kong game where we can prepare well. And once that was done (with good results), I would be full time India coach. In terms of preparation, I did everything. I also feel that we don’t have the same conditions as the opponents. For Bangladesh, suddenly they have (Premier League footballer) Hamza Choudhary, while Hong Kong played with six naturalised players. They had guys from Cameroon, Chile, Brazil. I feel these Asian Cup qualifiers for India are win-win: If you qualify, the target is achieved. If you don’t, India will be forced to change the rules. You cannot keep going down.
Your choice of players, both probables and starters, invited criticism…
If you ask 200 people, they will give you 200 different lists. I was wrong because it didn’t work out. But if we scored against Bangladesh and Hong Kong from a clear chance, then the selection would be correct. Contrary to what everyone says, the performance against Hong Kong was not a disaster. It was an equal game. Hong Kong played with several naturalised players, who were playing in their league for five or six years. Imagine I have Mourtada Fall, Edu Bedia, Barth Ogbeche (for the national team). The score will clearly be in our favour.
The selection of players from FC Goa for the national team also raised questions…
It was expected. In the beginning, when Goa didn’t start well, we had only two players. At the time, people said I was not selecting players from Goa because I didn’t want them to be tired. When we finished the league in good shape, there were five players, of which only two were in the starting lineup. You cannot fight (with everyone). This is part of our job, this is why coaches get paid. Everyone said India needs younger players. But when I give someone a chance, he gets hammered (on social media by fans). A lot of people speak about Indian football, but nobody does anything. If we – I say we because I am a part – want Indian football to progress, we all have to move in the same direction.
