Who will join Manolo Marquez as support staff in Indian football team?

The Spanish coach has signed a three-year contract with AIFF.

On Saturday, 20th of July, All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) announced their decision to appoint Manolo Marquez as the new head coach of the Indian football team, after the departure of Igor Stimac last month. 

The Spaniard, who has vast experience of coaching in India serves as the right fit to take on the reins of the national team and resurrect it from the current chaotic state. 

Manolo Marquez will continue to coach Indian Super League (ISL) side FC Goa until the end of the 2024-25 season, along with performing his role at the Indian football team. Upon the completion of his contract with FC Goa at the end of the 2024-25 season, Manolo Marquez will take up a full-time position as the Indian National team’s head coach. 

Marquez has also been asked to choose his support staff at the earliest, and several known names have emerged, mainly including the people he entrusts, and has already worked with. 

Manolo reportedly will choose Benito Montalvo as his assistant and Jose Carlos Barroso as the strength and conditioning coach, both working with FC Goa at the moment.

ALSO READ: Manolo Marquez: Could he be AIFF’s finest pick in last 20 years?

Benito received training as a coach, analyst and sports director in Barcelona and has also been the head coach of RCD Espanyol Academy Helsinki. He met Manolo during training camps in Finland and Sweden during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been with him since his first season at Hyderabad FC in 2020. 

Barroso also has a lot of experience in Indian football and has worked with four different clubs since the 2018-19 season.

FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez will now also take charge of the Indian Men's Football Team! 🇮🇳🥳A Good Move, Great Move or Not So Great?#IndianFootball #IndianFootballTeam #BlueTigers pic.twitter.com/uvuAZyEByj

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) July 20, 2024

Having joined Hyderabad FC ahead of the 2020-21 season as a part of Manolo’s coaching staff, Barroso has ever since been a key cog in the shared success that both he and Manolo have enjoyed so far. Additionally, Mahesh Gawli remains the Indian assistant and is serving his current contract with AIFF. 

The only new member of Manolo’s coaching staff, outside Goa, would be goalkeeper’s coach Marc Gamon, who worked for two seasons with the Spaniard at Hyderabad FC before taking up a job in Belgium.

Manolo Marquez with Indian football team.

Manolo will soon encounter his first assignment with the Indian football team in the September international window, where India will play some friendly games.

As per reports in the Times of India, “The AIFF will confirm the teams for the Sept window in the next couple of days but most certainly the two opponents will be from Africa and Oceania,” said a senior official. “Since it’s already late in confirming the teams, they won’t be from the top 100. Most certainly lower ranked than India.”

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