India and FC Goa coach Manolo Marquez calls ISL scheduling ‘complete disaster’, says it doesn’t care about National team

This isn’t the first time ISL coaches have called out the issues over the scheduling. Former ISL-winning coach John Gregory had noted that the scheduling was ‘horrendous’ in 2019.

The Spaniard also highlighted the Christmas fixtures schedule, which is less than ideal for teams like Goa and Hyderabad FC. | Photo Credit: ISL Media

FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez expressed his displeasure over the Indian Super League (ISL) scheduling, claiming it’s detrimental to both the clubs and the national team.

Marquez, who also coaches the Indian national team, labelled the fixtures list a ‘complete disaster’, adding to the criticism from NorthEast United FC head coach Juan Pedro Benali from two days ago.

“I agree with Pedro Benali. The breaks are very big because the fixtures are a complete disaster. This is the reality. They don’t take care about the national team,” Marquez pointed out ahead of Goa’s clash against Mumbai City FC.

“The national team finished [playing on Saturday] then the ISL doesn’t start six or seven days later. But they stopped the ISL [on October 5] and the national team has to play in two [three] days.

“Lebanon withdrew in the end [from the tri-nation tournament]. But if Lebanon had played, then we would have had to play them three days after the last ISL game [before the international break], which is not normal.”

The Spaniard also highlighted the Christmas fixtures schedule, which is less than ideal for teams like Goa and Hyderabad FC.

“As Juan Pedro says, sometimes you have three weeks or sometimes you have 10 10-day break between matches. For the Christmas period this year, we [FC Goa] have more than two weeks between our games [December 20 and January 4] and other teams [Hyderabad FC] play Dec. 28 [at home] and January 2 [away to Kolkata]. This year we got lucky but we weren’t so last season,” he said.

This isn’t the first time ISL coaches have called out the issues over the scheduling. Former ISL-winning coach, John Gregory, noted that the scheduling was ‘horrendous’ in 2019 during his time at Chennaiyin FC.

Marquez hopes for a resolution which would benefit the ISL clubs. “I think they can do in a better way. I don’t want to speak about TV rights, but to play one ISL game every day [is not for me]. I prefer all the games over the weekend, if it’s possible to play altogether, then better.