'I resigned as India head coach in April, AIFF asked me to extend till June': Manolo Marquez

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) Former India men’s football head coach Manolo Marquez has revealed he wanted to step down from his post in April but was asked to extend his stay by a few months by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The Spaniard was appointed head coach after the fiery exit of previous head coach Igor Stimac in 2024 and has gone on to lead the Blue Colts in eight games with only one win, a 3-0 victory over Maldives in a friendly. In the end, he left the post with a win percentage of just 13 per cent.

"I resigned in April, but they asked me to do the June window, They tried to convince me for a month to continue at the head of the Indian national team.

"I didn't want to leave because of the bad results. In fact, they tried to convince me for a month to continue. It seems that they have now accepted my initial decision," Marquez told Spanish news outlet Marca.

Marquez mutually parted ways with the AIFF after India’s poor start to the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers as the Men in Blue played out a draw against Bangladesh in the opening game before an injury time goal in the 0-1 loss vs Hong Kong further added to their woes.

Marquez also stated that poor results did affect his tenure, but they were not the reason he stepped away.

"Coaching the Indian national team was the illusion of my life, but when you see that all teams do not play with the same rules, you feel that this is not your place. I admit that I have done things wrong, but if the results had improved, I would probably still be in office," he added.

Marquez first landed in India ahead of the 2020-21 Indian Super League season to take charge of Hyderabad FC, where he won the Indian Super League title in 2022. In his three years with The Nizams, Marquez took charge of 74 games out of which he won 37 and drew 21. He went on to take the helm at FC Goa and led them to a Super Cup triumph.

His time as FC Goa's head coach saw him become a dual manager, occupying head coach roles with both the national team and the ISL side as well. In 62 matches under Marquez, FC Goa has won 38 games with 12 losses and draws each.

--IANS

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