Journey won't be easy, Stimac warns newly-appointed football head coach Marquez

New Delhi: Smarting from his unceremonious exit, former Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac on Monday warned his successor Manolo Marquez that the journey ahead "won't be easy" but backed the Spaniard to deliver the goods.

Stimac, who was part of Croatia's run to the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup, was sacked last month after India's failure to qualify for the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers despite getting a relatively easy draw.

"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," Stimac tweeted.

The association between Stimac and AIFF ended on a sour note.

Describing his termination as "unilateral" and "unjust", Stimac issued a warning that he would take the AIFF to the FIFA Tribunal if his outstanding debts were not paid within 10 days, while blaming the national federation for the team's poor run in international football.

In a statement on Saturday, the AIFF said the 55-year-old Marquez will perform the dual role of managing the national team as well as the ISL franchise FC Goa in the 2024-25 season before taking up the India job on a full-time basis.

The tenure of Marquez, who is a UEFA Pro License holder, was not disclosed by the AIFF.

His first assignment as India head coach will be the Tri-Nation tournament in Vietnam in October. Lebanon is the third team.

Born in Barcelona, Marquez has been coaching in India since 2020. He has managed two ISL clubs so far. His first stint was with Hyderabad FC (2020-23), before he switched over to FC Goa (2023-present). He guided Hyderabad FC to the ISL Cup title in 2021-22.

Under him, FC Goa finished third in ISL league standing in the last season (2023-24).

Overall, Marquez had an extensive coaching career in Spain. He was at the helm of affairs for La Liga side Las Palmas in 2017 and had also coached Spanish lower division clubs like Las Palmas B, Espanyol B, Badalona, Prat and Europa.

Before becoming a coach, Marquez played as a defender in many lower division Spanish sides. He retired professionally at 28.