"Maybe, this is the reality of Indian Football."
For those that run Indian Football, that comment from head coach Manolo Marquez should hit where it hurts the most. How has it come to a place where the reality of Indian Football is a 0-0 draw against Bangladesh?
Marquez's anger-fuelled, post-match interview might have had a touch of an over-reaction given it came so close after the game. India probably weren't as bad against Bangladesh as the coach's reaction made it out to be. However, this was a fifth draw in the last six matches against Bangladesh. It established that India have struggled to break their neighbours down.
The end of this international break is a good time to reflect upon Marquez's time so far as India's head coach. He's had four international breaks in charge of the team now and has overseen six games. India have lost only one of the six, but have won only one as well. The four draws all came against opposition that India would have considered inferior or on par with them, in terms of strength.
On the face of it, 1W, 4D, 1L is not a great record across six games. What has not quite gone right for Marquez as India coach so far?
The Chhetri question
When Igor Stimac was sacked after India's World Cup qualification campaign ended in disappointment, Sunil Chhetri had already announced his retirement from international football. So when Marquez was appointed as India coach, an important part of his job description would've been to handle India's post-Chhetri transition. It took Marquez four games in charge to ditch the transition and go right back to Chhetri. He has said that it was his idea to call Chhetri back, as he saw his team lacking goals and Chhetri was the leading Indian goal-scorer in the ongoing ISL... by a fair margin.
Now, it's important to note that international football is a results business. It can be argued that Marquez is right to prioritise results, particularly in qualifiers, like the match against Bangladesh. But at some point, Indian football will not have the option of going back to Chhetri. What happens then? Even if Chhetri did help India through this qualification campaign and took them through to the AFC Asian Cup final in Saudi Arabia in 2027, he'll be 42 then. What would be the game-plan; still trust the 42-year-old to do the business then?
Additionally, although by compulsion, Marquez hasn't used Chhetri in the same way as he's been used in his 12-goal ISL season at Bengaluru FC. Last week, Bengaluru head coach Gerard Zaragoza predicted in a chat with ESPN that Chhetri wouldn't be able to replicate his ISL form with the national team. Chhetri isn't Bengaluru's main striker, Zaragoza said. He pointed to the dirty work that Edgar Mendez and Ryan Williams do, and just the sheer quality those players have, which allowed Chhetri to just be smart with his movement and get into those spaces at the right times, which he was intelligent enough to do.
For India, Chhetri is used almost as a target man. Too often, balls are lumped up for him to hold up and these days, every chance he gets seems to be a header. He's got an incredible jump for someone who is 5'7" tall, and he's strong enough, but that's certainly not how you best use him.
The question is, if you're not using Chhetri in the most productive way, aren't you better off giving someone else the time to develop in that crucial role, even if it's at the cost of one qualification campaign?
The Bangladesh match filled with errors
Marquez said that the poor performances from the Indian team against Bangladesh began with the coach. And he did make a few of them.
Was Udanta Singh the best available option on the right wing? Above Naorem Mahesh Singh or even Brison Fernandes?
Manolo Marquez doesn't mince his words about India's performance in their goalless draw against Bangladesh �� pic.twitter.com/MBHFEpb0D7
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) March 25, 2025
Marquez chose a hard runner that he was familiar with, rather than a more creative, attacking option. Udanta and Boris Singh have also struck up a good partnership down the right wing for FC Goa this season. However, it was clear from the first half itself that Udanta wasn't quite making the desired impact and yet Marquez still delayed bringing Mahesh on until the hour mark.
15 minutes later, Mahesh moved from the right wing into a central role behind Chhetri, to accommodate Brison on the right wing, where he hasn't played for Goa all season. There is a case to be made that Mahesh should've been the creative option from the wide areas, while Brison should've occupied a central role closer to goal to use his confidence, which has been high this season.
In midfield, Ayush Dev Chhetri deserved an India call-up for his form for Goa all season, but with the physical battle against Hamza Choudhury in mind, was he the best pick for the Bangladesh game ahead of Suresh Singh or Jeakson Singh? Once Suresh came on, it didn't take too long for him to get stuck in, and that allowed India far more sustained periods of possession in the second half.
Has Marquez selected the best possible players for his squads?
In terms of his squad selections so far, Marquez has (perhaps understandably) erred on the side of familiarity. As a result of that, there have been certain picks that have ostensibly been made only due to their club association with the coach. For example, when injury ruled Brandon Fernandes out of the game against Bangladesh, was Udanta the best available replacement around the country? Did he really do more for his club than Jithin MS did for NorthEast United, or even young Korou Singh for Kerala Blasters?
While it is sometimes understandable that coaches pick players that they are familiar with, it's not a good attribute for a national team coach to have. Marquez has been around the ISL long enough now. Picking players only because of familiarity points to a certain lack of knowledge about the Indians in the rest of the league. Not knowing players at other clubs is certainly not an excuse that Marquez can give.
He's also been unfortunate with the players that have been unavailable for selection due to injury at various times. He didn't have Sandesh Jhingan available for the first two international breaks that he took charge of. Against Bangladesh, in the most important game of his tenure yet, Marquez didn't have Lallianzuala Chhangte, Anwar Ali, Manvir Singh or Brandon available for selection.
It's very difficult for any coach to produce any kind of consistency when such important players miss games so constantly, so it is unwise to judge Marquez fully until he has a full squad available. However, it's fair to say that even accounting for those injuries, the team needs to be better. India haven't gotten results, nor have they played consistently played good football so far.
What India have done well under Marquez
One identity that Marquez has unquestionably built within six games is that India are now a consistent threat from set-pieces. And he's managed to do that despite not having one consistent set-piece taker available. Duties have moved between Brandon, Liston Colaco, Naorem Mahesh Singh and Naorem Roshan Singh, but the likes of Rahul Bheke and Chhetri have consistently gotten into goalscoring positions from set-pieces.
Chhetri had two presentable chances off corners against Bangladesh, Subhasish Bose missed a sitter too. That is in addition to the goals India have already scored from corners previously under Marquez. Bheke, with two goals, is India's top-scorer in this new era, and both of those goals have come from corners.
What's next?
By the time Marquez convenes his India squad next, he will not be FC Goa head coach anymore. His sole focus will be on India and the first thing to see should be a playing style. Thus far, it has been a bit inconsistent, but that has depended on which players he's had available.
If Brandon has been available to start, India have looked to play through him in midfield and trying to get him to play through balls into the path of the attacking players. But that play through midfield almost becomes non-existent when Brandon isn't there. India's build-up changes exclusively to being from wide areas. Without Brandon, they look to get the ball early into the likes of Mahesh or Liston, to let them run at the full-backs and then play crosses into the box.
Eventually, Marquez's target must be for India to play a uniform playing style irrespective of personnel, so he can develop a consistent core group of players who make India squads every time and know what their role will be when they come into the side.