Eleven games played. Six lost, five drawn. Four goals scored, fifteen conceded. As far as years go, the senior men's national football team of India has rarely seen worse than 2024.
A year that started with hopes of big things at the Asian Cup has now ended without a win and barely a dent made in the national sporting consciousness, the sweet summer of 2023 long forgotten. But, as Monday evening at a decently loud Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad showed, all's not doom and gloom.
The primary reason for that is a man who once used to call that place home, and the man who took over the reins of a tottering-on-it's-last-legs team under Igor Stimac. Manolo Marquez may have only drawn three (and lost one) of his first four matches in charge (all friendlies, mind), but there are already clear signs that point to a 2025 which ought to be a much happier year if you're an Indian football aficionado.
'What?', we can hear you mutter as you re-read the first line of this piece. Well...
In-form players making the cut
The first two games of the Manolo era were essentially write-offs: happening before the ISL started, with under-cooked players and with about a day and a half's training before the first match. It was a way for the new coach to test out what his predecessor had left him, and it was perhaps understandable that he didn't tweak that squad much.
The last two, though, have shown the way he'd like to go. Farukh Chaudhary and Irfan Yadwad have been in pretty good nick under Owen Coyle at Chennaiyin, and that momentum carried forward against Vietnam and Malaysia. Farukh's goal in that first game was a great example of this -- it was the finish of a confident player, one who knows what scoring (recently) feels like, and that's something that had been missing in the Indian set up.
The same can be said for Roshan Singh starting on Monday -- another player who's been in stellar form, knocking out the more established players in his position. All of them brought with them an intensity and non-stop movement that the national team has cried out for all year (and at times more, much more).
There's still much that can be done, but it's so early in his reign that Marquez deserves to be cut a bit more slack. Jithin MS and Vibin Mohanan were rewarded for consistent performances with callups and the briefest of runouts (especially poor Vibin, with a minute) but it's hard to argue against any of the players who started in their stead.
There's a feeling, though, that their time will come -- and if that doesn't drive players to perform better in the league, nothing will.
P.S. Gurpreet is a very good goalkeeper, but no one should remain comfortable in their starting spot if mistakes of the nature he made against Malaysia are made. It's probably time Marquez had a look around, especially at the most consistent keeper in the ISL - Vishal Kaith.
A midfield (and a team) that not's afraid of the ball
A central midfield duo of Apuia and Suresh Singh may not have the physical aura of Stimac midfields past (and nothing close to the pure physicality of the Constantine era), but these are two players who aren't just comfortable on the ball, but demand it in tight spaces, are able to slither away from pressure and pick a pass out when called upon. So are the subs from those last two matches - Vibin and Lalrinliana Hnamte. Not the biggest men, all four are tenacious though, and that's Marquez showing India that intensity doesn't equate to size and that ball-playing is essential at the core of the team.
This is reflected across the pitch, and you could sense that every time India attacked against Vietnam and Malaysia. There was a pattern to the build-up, (at times) an easy fluidity to the movement and a confidence in attempting the outrageous. That's a freedom that's not always been there for those wearing India blue, but it's one that kindles hopes of something different. Something more. There's a style that's developing, slowly, and you can see it. For those who think it's too slow... Marquez had a similarly unhurried start at Hyderabad FC too (two wins, three losses and three draws in his first eight ISL matches). And look how that turned out.
Defensive solidity and leaning on set-piece expertise
...without making it the team's only schtick.
Now, that's a tough line to follow. Stephen Constantine was unabashed about it being plan A-Z, and it worked in the limited way it was designed to. Igor Stimac could drill a defensive unit, but the more expansive he tried to be, the leakier everything became. Balancing the two is a fine art, and there are signs that Marquez is -- like with his club sides -- doing just that with the national team.
When you have the aerial presence of Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali and Yadwad, and when you have the delivery of Brandon Fernandes, it makes sense to lean on their set-piece expertise and the rewards for doing that were seen in the Malaysia game... but in no way over the past two games has the Indian offence looked purely one-dimensional.
There's a variety to their attacking third play and a good mix of open-play strategies that appear to be custom-made for different teams -- from incessant running in behind vs Vietnam (and a three-at-the-back) to crosses deep into the box against Malaysia (and a four-at-the-back). And they have caused bother. It may not have worked just as it was intended (otherwise there'd be two wins instead of two draws), but it's a new-found flexibility that keeps the X-factor of unpredictability on the top of opponents' minds. At any level of football, that's a good thing.
2025 and it's challenges
You may claim that the factors mentioned above are too subtle, a bunch of way-too-early-observations, and you'd be right. But for a team that's far too often looked starved of hope, these are some tangible hooks to cling onto as we move into the next year. Now, Marquez himself wasn't too pleased with the results or performances (and that's a good thing), but he knows that the intensity of a friendly game will never match that of one that has consequence. India will be in some serious matches next year -- the qualification rounds for the next AFC Asian Cup -- and that could provide the spark Marquez is looking for.
In the meantime, it's up to the AIFF to provide as much preparatory time as possible in the international windows (whether it's training camps or friendlies: as per the coach's blueprint). And it's up to the players to keep at it, to keep performing, to make themselves un-droppable.
After all, it's a new era, and there's real hope that everyone's been served notice.