Manolo Marquez and the All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) separated Wednesday on Wednesday.
This is after the Blue Tigers fell against Hong Kong in their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign on 10-1.
«I still think that India have opportunities to be eligible. Of course we are sad. The dressing room is like a funeral. But we are still in the fight,» the Spaniard had said after the defeat.
Under his term of office, India played eight games and only achieved one win-one 3-0 win over the Maldives in a friendly in March.
Marquez, who led Hyderabad FC to the Indian Super League (ISL) title in 2022 and this year won the Super Cup with FC Goa, took the leadership of the national team in June 2024.
The Spaniard had previously expressed his frustration with Indian football after a scoreless draw against Bangladesh in March – a team that now arranged 56 places under India in the FIFA ranking list.
«I don’t want to speak much practically. I am very angry, disappointed about everyone. I have no words for these bad performances,» Marquez said after the game.
«Perhaps this is the reality of Indian football, and the positive thing is that we have not admitted any goal with the opportunities they have created.»
The state of Indian football has decreased last year, characterized by a gloomy performance at the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar last year, where the team left in the group stage after losing all its competitions.
India, which was in 99th place in FIFA ranking in July 2023, has now fallen to the 127th, without victories in competitive football since November 2023. The last victory of the team came against Kuwait under former head coach Igor Stimac, who replaced Marquez.
