AIFF and coach Manolo Marquez part ways amid India's struggles

Embattled India football head coach Manolo Marquez stepped down on Wednesday after reaching a "mutual agreement" with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which was under pressure to fix accountability for the recent downward spiral of the national team.

The AIFF Executive Committee, in its meeting here, agreed to relieve the 56-year-old Marquez after he expressed his desire to do so despite one year still left in his contract.

"The AIFF and Manolo decided to mutually part ways without any financial implications to any of the two parties. So, he is relieved from being India coach. The AIFF will shortly advertise for the post of head coach," AIFF Deputy Secretary General K Satyanarayana told PTI.

The Spaniard was appointed as head coach in June 2024 for a two-year tenure. He worked in a dual role last year as he was also the head coach of Indian Super League side FC Goa in 2024-25 season.

India lost 0-1 to lower-ranked Hong Kong in an away match of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10, which left the country in danger of missing out on qualifying for the continental showpiece in 2027.

India logged just one win from their last eight matches under Marquez's tutelage, the lone victory coming against Maldives in March.

This year, India have so far played four matches, out of which they have won one, drew another, and lost two. The poor results prompted the return of former skipper and iconic striker Sunil Chhetri to the squad but that has done little to improve the team's fortunes.

India's next scheduled international match is an away fixture against Singapore in the third round of Asian Cup qualifiers.

According to sources, Marquez, who took over from Croatian Igor Stimac, had informed the AIFF his desire to quit sometime back -- even before the June 10 match against Hong Kong -- but could not do so unilaterally as he needed an agreement with the AIFF.

Marquez has been one of the longest serving foreign coaches in Indian football, having managed multiple Indian clubs. He has secured trophies, including the Super Cup and the ISL Cup.

His tenure of one year is the shortest among Indian head coaches in the last decade -- Stephen Constantine was India head coach from 2015–2019 before Igor Stimac (2019−2024).