The highs and lows for Indian football, in the last year, resemble a transverse wave.
It peaked with the excitement of playing in a second successive Asian Cup in January and fell to its lowest in June after being eliminated from the race for the next World Cup, dropping to its worst FIFA ranking in seven years as a result.
The grandstands, which fans once filled even on foreign soil, now remain deserted and the football is lacklustre.
Under new coach Manolo Marquez, the Blue Tigers did little to their fortune as they failed in their Intercontinental Cup defence in his first tournament in charge.
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But life is about second chances and the Spaniard will hope to get a second bite of the cherry on the same ground, Gachibowli Stadium, against Malaysia in an international friendly on Monday.
Marquez has been here before. In his first eight games in charge of Hyderabad FC (in the 2020-21 season), he won just twice and lost three consecutive games. But in the next 12 games, the Nizams never lost a game and in the following season, they did the unthinkable by winning the Indian Super League (ISL) title.
“I was in the same situation. When I arrived, I substituted someone who is in the same profession as me,” Marquez told the reporters in the pre-match press conference.
“In my opinion, Igor (Stimac) did a good job here. It’s not easy to be five seasons in India. Obviously, there are always ups and downs. But we are focused only on our job.”
Selection conundrum
Marquez has been left scratching his head to find a working defence when Sandesh Jhingan was ruled out with injury for the better part of the year. But the FC Goa centre-back has returned in the ISL and that would ease some of the woes for the Spaniard.
“Sandesh Jhingan is the most difficult Indian player to replace. Not because he is (Lionel) Messi but because he is very important in the team, in terms of leadership, how he performs, the character that he has, the players are very comfortable with,” Marquez said.
However, there will be questions on how he organises the defence with Jhingan back in the picture.
Marquez had previously said that he sees Jay Gupta as a centre-back in the long run and that could see him going with a three-man defence.
Otherwise, he could also stick to Jay as the left-back and Rahul Bheke, with nine clean sheets and two goals in 16 matches for both club and country this season, eyeing a regular spot on the right.
The other conundrum would be to design the attack.
After Sunil Chhetri’s retirement, former India coach Stimac and now Marquez have tried Manvir Singh in that position, who has failed to replicate his club form. The forward has two goals for the National team in the last three years.
Instead, Lallianzuala Chhangte presents himself as a potential candidate for that position, with his goal against Qatar in the World Cup qualifier and his 18 goal contributions (11 goals and seven assists) in all competitions for Mumbai City FC last season.
With 18 goal contributions last season, Chhangte presents himself as the ideal replacement for Sunil Chhetri. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Setting the stage
Though the match is friendly, it will help India put its affairs in order before the third-round qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup 2027, starting in March next year.
It is India’s final chance to cement a spot in pot 1 of the draw (for the qualifiers), set to take place next month. Even though India faces a side ranked eight spots lower, this contest will be an opportune moment for Marquez to instil a philosophy for big matches.
“The next is in March. Now they are in the middle of the ISL. I think it starts in three or four days. But they are very focused. If you see the training sessions, they have high concentration and are ready for the game tomorrow,” Marquez added.
Malaysia, on the other hand, travels to India after a 3-1 win over Laos and will have more match practice than the host, which has been training at the national camp here since November 11.
The Harimau Malaya, like India, have changed coaches since the last time the two met when Malaysia won 4-2 in the Merdeka Cup 2023.
Pau Marti Vicente, who was assistant to Kim Pan-Gon, has now stepped into the South Korean’s shoes in a caretaker’s capacity. Working in a typical 4-3-3 formation, Vicente has continued the same school of thought (as Pan-Gon) of quick counterattacking football.
Under Vicente, Malaysia won the Merdeka Cup – in September 2024 – after 11 years, will hope to beat the odds and stun the higher-ranked favourite at home.
“I believe it’s very tough to play here, it will be a very difficult game. Also, I think we have to improve our record away from home for us as a team,” Vicente said before the match.
“I don’t know [when was the] last time we won against India here, so I think it’s a good challenge and opportunity for us tomorrow,” he added.
The visiting side’s attack is a blend of home-grown and imported talents, with Safawi Rasid dancing down the flanks and Argentina-born Sergio Ezequiel Aguero orchestrating attacks from the midfield.
With both teams outside the top 120, a win here for either side would contribute significantly to its Elo rating and improve its ranking. And Marquez, with no wins as India coach and a single-spot rise in rankings so far, would look to get the job done in the City of Nizams.
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