Will Manolo Marquez stay with FC Goa, quit as India head coach?

Kolkata: When they lifted him in the air in pouring rain in Bhubaneswar, it felt like FC Goa were giving Manolo Marquez a fitting farewell. The Indian football season had ended with the Kalinga Super Cup final on Saturday meaning the Spaniard no longer had the dual responsibility of coaching club and country.

Marquez, 56, is supposed to be in charge of only the India senior men’s national team from June 1. It is not clear for how long though. His contract with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is till May 31, 2026, with provision for a one-year extension. But football officials are not sure he will see out the contract.

“I prefer not to speak before the Hong Kong tie,” said Marquez in a WhatsApp message to HT on Monday. AIFF said Marquez has not spoken about stepping down.

After FC Goa beat Jamshedpur FC 3-0 in the Super Cup final, former AIFF secretary-general Shaji Prabhakaran, while congratulating the winners on X, ended his post saying: “Will Manolo sign an extension with FC Goa?”

The question about Marquez’s future with the India team gathered momentum after the 0-0 draw against Bangladesh in Shillong on March 25, officials told HT. Visibly upset at the post-match media conference, Marquez had described the performance as “very, very poor”.

“Let’s say that was the tipping point,” said an ISL club official. “I can tell you he is not going to stay,” said the president of a state association. “He will renew with FC Goa. They have paused their search for a coach,” said an official with another state association. None of the three wanted to be named given the sensitive nature of the issue.

All of them said Marquez was not happy. The club official spoke of a tiff with team staff in Shillong over logistics. The state association official, who said Marquez was not keen on staying, mentioned “the stress of phone calls regarding team selection.”

At the press conference following the final in Bhubaneswar, Marquez was asked to comment on the improvement in Indian players. He said: “In Spain, in the 1970s and 80s, only Spanish players played in the cup tournament. I would like one cup with only Indian players. I spoke about it but they (AIFF) did completely the opposite.”

At that press conference, Marquez also said FC Goa were “the best club in India in terms of organisation” and that it had been a “dream to train a team like this”.

Asked about FC Goa playing in Asia – they are eligible for the 2025-26 Asian Champions League qualifier and, if they cannot make the main round, the AFC Challenge League – he said: “Continuity is very, very important…. To destroy this group would be a big mistake.”

Having been part of the national team for nearly one year, Marquez has also told people close to him that he preferred the daily excitement that working at a club provides, said the club official.

The officials quoted above said Marquez could step down this year, maybe even after the June 10 qualifier against Hong Kong. There is no FIFA window till September and India’s next Asian Cup qualifier after that is against Singapore on October 9, so it will give AIFF time to get a replacement, the officials said speaking separately.

“I have not heard anything about this,” AIFF deputy secretary-general Satyanarayan M said over the phone from New Delhi on Monday when asked if Marquez could leave. “We have not had any discussion on this. We are focusing on the June 10th game against Hong Kong and the friendly against Thailand in the lead-up to that match.”

Satyanarayan, who is in charge of the national teams, said a preparatory camp under Marquez will start in Kolkata on May 18.

Asked about Marquez being unhappy with how things were with the national team, Satyanarayan said: “He is supposed to file a report on the camp and the match in Shillong.”

FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur said: “Marquez has a contract only with the national team from June 1, 2025. And unless that contract is not active, our understanding is that he is not available.” Speaking over the phone from Goa on Monday, Puskur also said if Marquez was available, “only a fool in this country would turn down the chance to have him as coach.”

Marquez’s contract with AIFF is worth approximately $407,000 (approx ₹3.7 crore now) but should he leave, it would be the second time in his career that he would be walking away from a top job. As Las Palmas head coach in La Liga in 2017-18 replacing Quique Setién (then at Real Betis, he would go on to head Barcelona and Villarreal) Marquez quit after six matches though his contract was for the season. This, when the rule in Spain was that he would not be allowed to coach in the country that season.