Manolo Márquez is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who has been appointed as the head coach of the men’s India football at national level. He will succeed Igor Stimac who was sacked in June for under-delivering with the Indian team.
A former defender from Spain, Manolo Márquez never played international football for his country. He has in fact never featured in any of the highest levels of domestic football. He had only played for lower division clubs Horta, Martinenc and Badalona.
Despite not having a big-stage playing experience, the 55 year-old, has a wealth of experience of coaching football clubs. He began his managerial career with PB Anguera in 2002. He then followed it up with stints at AE Prat and CE Europa, which are lower division clubs, before taking over as manager of prestigious clubs like Espanyol B side and Las Palmas between 2013 and 2018.
Also Read: How Players Deal Mental Pressure In Euro
Read More
Manolo Márquez also had managerial stints in Croatia and Thailand. He then moved to India in 2020 where he took the role of manager of ISL (Indian Super League) side Hyderabad FC. He coached the team for three years steering the team to their maiden ISL title in 2022, beating Kerala Blasters on penalties in the final. He 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 appointed as the new head coach of FC Goa, supervising a 12-match unbeaten streak at the start of the season before finishing the league stage in third place. FC Goa reached the semi-finals of the last ISL season where they lost to eventual champions Mumbai City FC.
Also Read: 5 Candidates To Succeed Gareth Southgate as England Manager
Read More
The Spaniard will continue to work with FC Goa and the Indian football team simultaneously during the 2024-25 season, before taking up as head coach of India on a full-time basis after the domestic season.
Stats of Manolo Márquez as Manager
| Team | From | To |
| Prat | 1 July 2003 | 30 June 2006 |
| Europa | 1 July 2006 | 30 June 2007 |
| Prat | 1 July 2007 | 30 June 2009 |
| Badalona | 5 June 2010 | 20 June 2012 |
| Espanyol B | 30 January 2013 | 21 January 2014 |
| Prat | 4 November 2014 | 21 May 2015 |
| Sant Andreu | 29 June 2015 | 26 October 2015 |
| Las Palmas B | 16 June 2016 | 3 July 2017 |
| Las Palmas | 3 July 2017 | 26 September 2017 |
| NK Istra 1961 | 15 June 2018 | 18 September 2018 |
| Ratchaburi Mitr Phol | 27 December 2018 | 22 January 2019 |
| Hyderabad | 31 August 2020 | 31 May 2023 |
| Goa | 2 June 2023 | 31 May 2025 |
| India | 20 July 2024 | Present |
