HT Kick Off: A tale of two coaches
In this issue, Dhiman talks about why the India men's head coach's job can feel like a poisoned chalice and yet has no dearth of takers.
Manolo Marquez and Luciano Spalletti knew they were not staying beyond this week’s engagements. Spalletti had wanted to after the 0-3 defeat to Norway but was not allowed by the Italian federation which, bizarrely, after sacking him, let him continue against Moldova and finish on a winning note.
Marquez could not though it cannot yet be said he is a former India coach because the formalities of the separation have not been completed. Unlike Spalletti, he had had enough. It is not known when, if at all, given that there is talk of a non-disclosure agreement, India will get to know why. “It is not the moment to speak about this,” Marquez said after the defeat in Hong Kong when asked if would continue. The Spaniard not denying he would leave – HT had reported the possibility on May 6 – is crucial but that is only half the story.
Underwhelming stints
The away win against France, and a quarter-final in the Nations League notwithstanding, Spalletti’s time with Italy (11 wins in 23 matches) was underwhelming. It was worse for Marquez. He had one win from eight matches. It was the inability to win against Mauritius, Bangladesh and Hong Kong, all ranked significantly lower than India, that rankled. Successful with Hyderabad FC and FC Goa and having forged a reputation for improving Indian players, Marquez’s first stint as a national team head coach will be a blot on his career.
Spalletti has explained why he could not succeed. “It's the coach who has to make the difference and unfortunately I wasn't able to do that," he said two seasons after inspiring Napoli to the Serie A, the club’s first since Diego Maradona pulled their shirt. Known to say it like it is, it would be nice to know what Marquez thinks about why it did not work. Was it inexperience? Injuries? Did AIFF back him?
Sandesh Jhingan has apologised but the end-of-season gloom has been felt with Bhaichung Bhutia again asking for AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey’s resignation “because he has destroyed Indian football”. The pundit Joe Morrison and Parth Jindal hit out on X and Ravi Puskur, the CEO of FC Goa, said the system was "rotten in ways we refuse to admit" while claiming that rising players’ salaries have stopped them from growing.
The players’ salaries issue
Puskur’s comment on the deleterious effect of money shows how little has changed. When Vijay Mallya invested in Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, and this was last century, the infrastructure didn’t improve and there was nothing significant by way of youth development but liquor money immediately sparked a big uptick in players’ salaries. Kolkata’s Big Two justified it just like how ISL clubs now are.
The bubble bursting in China and the growing problem of inequality among clubs in Europe – Brescia, a 114-year-old club which spent 23 seasons in Serie A and where Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Altobelli, Andrea Pirlo, Luca Toni and Pep Guardiola have played, have gone bankrupt – show that the problem is not unique to India. So what, the way of Saudi Arabia and Qatar? What happens if their governments decide to pull the plug?
Spalletti had to supervise a transition, not so much Marquez barring the going and coming of Sunil Chhetri and a change in goalkeepers. After the 2021 Euro triumph. Italy had no Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Jorginho and Federico Chiesa’s playing time had reduced, Sandro Tonali was banned and players had moved to Canada and Qatar.
“We certainly are not leaving my successor a sense of enthusiasm…,” said Spalletti. Add a short season, a small players’ pool and crucial roles in ISL teams being taken up by foreign players (strikers, central defenders, creative midfielders) to everything mentioned above, you can say that about India too.
Poisoned chalice?
It makes the position somewhat of a poisoned chalice. Since 2000 most full time foreign coaches have not worked after their India job. Yet, the lure of leading a national team often proves too hard to resist. There will never be a dearth of coaches, a former All India Football Federation secretary had told me. “I get CVs all the time.”
Four years in India and after having seen the sport from inside, Marquez thought he could make a difference. His replacement will too but unless India change the fundamentals (longer season across the country for seniors and age-specific leagues, youth development that goes beyond ticking boxes and getting more boys and girls to play), progress like, say, Uzbekistan is impossible. They won the Asian Games gold in 1994 and are now in the World Cup.
India hired their Asian Games winningcoach Rustam Akramov in 1995 but it was no surprise that he could achieve little. No manager can. At best, they can get a few good results which will take India back to the late 90s in FIFA rankings and then the slide will follow. Sport is full of surprises but this is a pattern that has been repeated often enough.
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