Manolo Marquez expresses his thoughts ahead of India vs Malaysia clash; Sandesh Jhingan return; transition to national team & more

The Indian National team face Malaysia for the 33rd time tomorrow

The Blue Tigers are all set to host the Malaysian National team for an international friendly for the 33rd time on 18th November 2024 at the GMC Balayogi Stadium, Hyderabad. This makes Malaysia the most-played opponent against India at the international level.

With both teams evenly matched in terms of FIFA rankings and historical head-to-head records, the International friendly between India and Malaysia promises to be a nail-biting affair. Both sides will be eager to emerge victorious, but India, in particular, will be under pressure to end their winless streak and secure a positive result under coach Manolo Marquez.

With the International friendly approaching, Team India’s Head Coach Manolo Marquez spoke to the media earlier today.

Preparing for the task ahead 👀India 🇮🇳 vs Malaysia 🇲🇾 18 November 2024 📅Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad 🏟️#indianfootball #football #bluetigers pic.twitter.com/7kBVDqsAar

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) November 17, 2024

On the transition that the team has undergone in the past few days

After the departure of Igor Stimac, Manolo Marquez took over the reins, bringing with him a fresh perspective and a new style of play. This transition period has been marked by significant changes, as the team has been adapting to the coach’s philosophies and playing style. Talking about the transition the team is undergoing this is what The Spaniard said –

“Usually I wouldn’t want someone who replaced me or is my successor in my same role or profession to talk about me. But In my opinion, I think that Igor, did a good job here in his time with the National team. It’s not easy to be five seasons in India. Obviously always there are up and downs, but we are focused only on our job. But we need time to find the correct team.”

“I think that we are changing. That’s seen in Some players too, they’re changing step by step, and I feel the match against Vietnam showed that if you have some limited time to train, you can do better things than playing a match without training sessions. The Intercontinental Cup was my first training camp, I remember I arrived here and after two days, we played here against Mauritius. Then, we need to be focused on our improvement, through training sessions, But I know that for the people it’s always through better games, So we will work on that accordingly” He stated

On how long he would take to form a winning team

While the team is still adapting to a new style of play under Manolo Marquez, they have shown glimpses of improvement but they have also been struggling for a victory. The coach stated that if they continue to work together, the team would achieve positive results.

“After this game, The next game is after four months. The thing is that after fourMonths, we will see very clear the picture of the competition whether it is the ISL or the I-League, the things will be very clear. That is by when, I think that the list will be clear. There are a few players who for now, are not in their best form and maybe they have performed very good or even the opposite.”

“But I think that most of the squad if you see the first, second list now, are similar. I think we need to find the players who will be performing very well until March and then look at the performances until June, because after March is when the playoffs will be played in ISL. By the end of that we should have a strong squad ready” He asserted.

Also Read: India vs Malaysia lineups, team news, prediction & preview

On Sandesh Jhingan’s comeback after a long injury

Sandesh Jhingan is returning to the Indian national team after a lengthy injury layoff due to a knee injury. The coach expressed his belief and confidence in the defender

“Sandesh Jhingan is the most difficult Indian player to replace. You don’t have this kind of player in every team Because he plays a very important role in any team he plays for”

“In terms of leadership, in terms of how he performs, this character that he has, that the players are very comfortable playing with him. He’s a very important player, especially for matches like this. But there are always players like this in every team and obviously in every country. And it’s always good to have such players back.”

Sandesh Jhingan spoke on various aspects in an interview with AIFF 🗣Here's the full interview ⤵https://t.co/ZIcON8TQZI#IndianFootball #sandeshjhingan pic.twitter.com/kt2o4czHQi

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) November 16, 2024

On whether his experience in the ISL is helping him in finding the right players in the ISL

Manolo Marquez brings a wealth of experience from his successful time in the Indian Super League gained through his experiences with Hyderabad FC and FC Goa. He believes that this has been crucial in understanding the mindset of a lot of players.

“This is my fifth season in India. Obviously, it helps me. In fact, I think that I am a national team coach because I know more or less everything about the Indian players. Because the results were good whether it was my time with Hyderabad FC or FC Goa also. And obviously, I know very well about the players, all the Indian players especially Not only in the ISL, but in the I-League as well. So I think it’s helping me on the whole'” He concluded

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