It is a dream come true to coach Indian football team: Manolo Marquez

Manolo Marquez, who arrived late on Saturday night, was quick to acknowledge the fact that it was a dream come true for him to take charge of the Blue Tigers. On Sunday, the new head coach held an extensive meeting with the Executive Committee and Technical Committee members of the AIFF.

“For a long time, I was thinking that maybe one day I would like to coach the national team and I'm here now. I am very happy and it is a dream for me to be the national team coach of India,” said Marquez to reporters.

Marquez first landed in India ahead of the 2020-21 Indian Super League season to take charge of Hyderabad FC and his family-like relations with Indian players are no secret, which already gives him a head start as he begins his national team journey.

India were knocked out of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeat in Qatar in June, which means Marquez’s first order of business, as far as official competitions are concerned, will be qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The qualifiers are set to begin in March 2025 in which 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each, with the winner progressing to the final tournament in Saudi Arabia.

The draw for the qualifiers will take place in December and it will be important for India to keep their place in Pot 1 so as to achieve a favourable draw. Marquez will have friendly matches in three FIFA International Match Windows (September, October and November) to utilise before the qualifiers. It all begins with the Intercontinental Cup in September where India will face Mauritius and Syria in Hyderabad, followed by matches against Lebanon and hosts Vietnam in the Tri-Nation tournament in October.

“The target now is obviously to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup if we speak about competitions. The target is also to improve the level of the Indian players in this case, to reach the next step individually and as a team. We need to improve. I don't like to speak about the ranking because sometimes statistics don’t show the true picture. Everyone knows that progress takes time, but in this case, it depends on the attitude of everyone. Players, federation, staff, coaches. We all need to go in the same direction and then I am completely sure that we will get good results,” he concluded.