Igor Stimac Warns Newly-Appointed Indian Football Head Coach Manolo Marquez, Says ‘Journey Won’t Be Easy’

Igor Stimac was sacked by the AIFF after India's second-round exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

New Delhi: Former Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac has sent out a warning to his successor Manolo Marquez, stating the ‘journey won’t be easy’. Marquez, who is well-known in the Indian football circuit courtesy of his time in the ISL, was on Saturday named as the new India head coach by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Stimac, who took over the Indian team in 2019, was sacked following India’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Marquez brings a strong reputation with himself in the Indian football setup, having coached Hyderabad FC to the title in 2021. He is currently the head coach of FC Goa in the ISL and is going to manage both the club and country simultaneously before fully taking over the Blue Tigers next year.

In a social media post, Stimac congratulated the Spaniard and believed that Marquez’s experience in India would benefit the national team. “Dear Manolo, Congratulations on being named the new India head coach. The journey won’t be easy, but your experience with Indian players speaks for itself and you are best suited to take the Blue Tigers to the next level! Good luck my friend,” he wrote on Twitter.

Dear Manolo,
Congratulations on being named the new India head coach 🇮🇳
The journey won’t be easy, but your experience with Indian players speaks for itself and you are best suited to take the Blue Tigers to the next level!
Good luck my friend 💙🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/CAkEtffZnN

— Igor Štimac (@stimac_igor) July 22, 2024

After a wonderful 2023 where India ended up winning three trophies and went on an 11-game unbeaten streak, this year has been far from what was expected . The Blue Tigers were knocked out of the AFC Asian Cup without even scoring a single goal and were eliminated in disappointing fashion from the second round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after failing to beat Afghanistan and Kuwait.

Marquez has many problems to solve including how the team will move forward without legendary striker Sunil Chhetri, who retired last month. However, the AIFF will give Spaniard time to analyse the situation before he  takes over in September.