After stepping down as India head coach, Manolo Marquez to helm FC Goa in coming season

New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) After stepping down as Indian men's football team head coach earlier this month, Spaniard Manolo Marquez on Friday re-joined FC Goa to helm the club for the 2025-26 season.

FC Goa announced that Marquez has signed to continue as the head coach for the upcoming season, his third at the club.

"No one forgets the Don and the Don never forgets home. Welcome Back Boss," FC Goa posted on their social media handle.

“I was very happy during the previous two seasons, where the team showed consistent improvement each year. The level of organisation that the club operates with is not commonly observed in Indian club football, making FC Goa a very special club,” Marquez said of his return in a club statement.

“It was clear for me that if I were to continue in India, it had to be with FC Goa,” he added.

The Indian Super League, the country's top-tier competition is, however, on "hold" due to the uncertainty over the issue of the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement -- to expire on December 8 -- between the AIFF and the organisers Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL).

Marquez resigned from his national role on July 2 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 56-year-old was appointed as India head coach in June 2024 for a two-year tenure. He worked in a dual role last year, also guiding FC Goa in the 2024-25 ISL 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.

Marquez was initially signed for FC Goa in 2023 on a two-year deal, and since has become the longest serving head coach of the Gaurs, with a campaign spanning 62 matches across all competitions.

He will begin his third season at FC Goa with a desire to maintain a successful record, not only taking the club further in Indian football, but Asian football as well, thanks to the win in the Kalinga Super Sup last season.

To begin with, he will be leading the club in the preliminary stage of the AFC Champions League 2, against Omani Professional League team, Al-Seeb Club, where FC Goa will play host at Fatorda on August 13.

"Some stories did not mean to end...no, this is unfinished business. I am coming home to finish what we started," the Spaniard said.

“It is obviously not a usual pre-season for us. Generally, you get about six to eight weeks of training before you arrive at the first ISL game in good conditions, having played multiple domestic competitions already," Marquez said.

"We are in a special situation, but a great one for us at the club where we also have the AFC match to look forward to. It will be a difficult game against Al-Seeb, but we are, of course, ready to play against them and the target will be to be there with our best foot forward.” On Marquez's re-joining of FC Goa, club CEO Ravi Puskur said, “When the opportunity arose to bring Manolo back, it was one of the most straightforward decisions we’ve had to make at the club. Over the past two seasons, he has not only delivered results but done so with a clear identity and a deep commitment to improving the group as a whole.” This year, joining Marquez in his coaching staff are two new members -- Spaniards Marc Gamon as goalkeeping coach, and David Ramos as the Strength & Conditioning coach -- following the departure of Asier Ray Santin and Jose Carlos Barroso.

Gamon finished a two-year stint with Belgian club KMSK Deinze and reunited with Marquez last year.

For the 2024-25 season, Gamon was Marquez’s goalkeeping coach for the Blue Tigers. They worked together again after coaching Hyderabad FC in the 2020-21 season.

Ramos, new to Indian football, comes with the experience of coaching clubs in Spain and China. The rest of his coaching staff, including assistant coaches Benito Montalvo and Gouramangi Singh Moirangthem, continue their roles at the club. PTI PDS PDS UNG