New Delhi, 20 July

Spaniard Manolo Marquez, currently in charge of Indian Super League side FC Goa, was on Saturday named as the Indian men's football team head coach in place of the sacked Igor Stimac.

The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) executive committee, which met here on Saturday, appointed Marquez for the top job.

The AIFF said 55-year-old Marquez will perform the dual role of managing the national team team as well as the ISL franchise in the 2024-25 season before taking up the India job on a full-time basis. "The Committee, in the first order of the day, deliberated on the appointment of the new head coach for the Senior Men's National Team, and selected Manolo Marquez for the job, effective immediately," the AIFF said in a statement.

"During the 2024-25 season, Mr. Marquez will continue his role as the head coach of first team at FC Goa, handling both responsibilities concurrently before assuming the national coaching role on a full-time basis."

The tenure of Marquez, who is a UEFA Pro License holder, was not disclosed by the AIFF. His first assignment as India head coach will be the Tri-Nation tournament in Vietnam in October. Lebanon is the third team.

There have been instances of national team head coach serving simultaneously as coach of a club in the past. Armando Colaco was the last one to do so when he was India head coach for a few months in 2011, while also at the helm of affairs for Goan club Dempo.

Stimac was sacked as head coach on June 17, after the Indian team failed to make it to the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers despite getting a relatively easy draw.

Born in Barcelona, Marquez has been coaching in India since 2020. He has managed two ISL clubs so far. His first stint was with Hyderabad FC (2020-23), before he switched over to FC Goa (2023-present). He guided Hyderabad FC to the ISL Cup title in 2021-22. Under him, FC Goa finished third in ISL league standing in the last season (2023-24).

Overall, Marquez had an extensive coaching career in Spain. He was at the helm of affairs for La Liga side Las Palmas in 2017 and had also coached Spanish lower division clubs like Las Palmas B, Espanyol B, Badalona, Prat and Europa.

"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. I want to do my best to bring success to the millions of fans we have," Marquez said.

"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."

Before becoming a coach, Marquez played as a defender in many lower division Spanish sides. He retired professionally at the age of 28.

AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said the federation, FC Goa and Marquez himself will collaborate closely to ensure that there is minimal impact between the two jobs -- as head coach of national team and the ISL side. "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. We look forward to working with Mr. Marquez in the years ahead," Chaubey said.