Manuel Márquez Roca

Manuel "Manolo" Márquez Roca (born 7 September 1968) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Indian Super League club Mumbai City.

Playing career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Márquez represented Cerdanyola, Santfeliuenc, Montañesa, Granollers, Martinenc, Horta, Badalona and Penya Barcelonista Anguera as a player, retiring professionally at the age of 28.

Managerial career

Márquez started his career with his last club Anguera in 2002, as manager. After two spells at Prat and one season at Tercera División side Europa, he was appointed manager of Segunda División B club Badalona on 5 June 2010.

Márquez took Badalona to the play-offs during his two seasons in charge, missing out promotion in both, however. On 31 January 2013, he was appointed in charge of Espanyol B.

Márquez was sacked by the Pericos on 21 January 2014, being replaced by his assistant Sergio. On 4 November, he returned to Prat for a third stint, but was relieved from his duties at the end of the season after failing to achieve promotion.

On 29 June 2015, Márquez was named at the helm of Sant Andreu, also in the fourth division. He was dismissed on 26 October, and only returned to coaching duties the following 16 June, after being named as manager of Las Palmas B.

Márquez achieved promotion to the third tier as champions with the B-team, and on 3 July 2017 he was appointed manager of the main squad in La Liga, after agreeing to a one-year contract. His first match in charge occurred on 18 August 2017, a 0–1 away loss against Valencia.

On 26 September 2017, after just six league matches in charge, Márquez resigned as manager after overseeing a 0–2 home defeat against Leganés just two days earlier.

In June 2018, Márquez signed with Croatian side Istra 1961 for one campaign. However, he was sacked on 18 September after winning only one of the first seven games.

At the end of 2018, Márquez agreed to manage Ratchaburi Mitr Phol in the Thai Premier League. He left a month later for personal reasons, before taking charge of a single game.

In March 2020, Márquez tested positive for COVID-19. He recovered 12 days later.

On 31 August 2020, Márquez was appointed as the head coach of Indian Super League club Hyderabad. On 10 February 2021, he penned down a two-year contract extension, that tied him with the club till 2023. The announcement came after he had led the team in the 2020–21 season to a fifth-place finish on the league table, failing to qualify for the playoff by two points. Márquez led Hyderabad to their first ever ISL title in the 2021–22 season.

On 2 June 2023, Márquez was appointed as the head coach of Goa on a multi-year deal.

On 20 July 2024, Márquez was appointed as the head coach of Indian Football Team succeeding the post of Igor Stimac, who was replaced by the AIFF. As per his contract, Marquez would see out his Goa role by continuing as the head coach of the club concurrently with the national team job, before assuming the national team role on a full-time basis after the conclusion of the 2024–25 season.

Alongside Marquez, Benito Montalvo was appointed as assistant coach, and Jose Carlos Barroso was appointed as the strength and conditioning coach. Both were also at Goa, and similar to Marquez, would do both jobs until the end of the season, before solely working for the national team.

Marquez's first match with the national team was a 0-0 draw against Mauritius, which Marquez himself described as "a boring game". After a 3-0 loss to Syria, the first goal of Marquez's tenure as Indian head coach came against Vietnam, with attacker Farukh Choudhary scoring a chip over Vietnam goalkeeper Filip Nguyen. This was the equalizing goal, as India went on to draw the game 1-1.

Marquez's first win with the Indian national team came on 19 March 2025, with a 3-0 win against Maldives, after goals from Rahul Bheke, Liston Colaco, and Sunil Chhetri. This win ended the nation's 489-day winless streak.

On 2 July 2025, following an AIFF Technical Committee meeting, a mutual termination of Márquez's contract was announced. It was later announced that Márquez would return to his earlier role of Goa head coach for the 2025-26 season.

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamFromToRecord Anguera 1 July 200230 June 2003 Prat1 July 200330 June 2006

Honours Hyderabad Indian Super League: 2021–22 Goa Super Cup: 2025

Individual ESPN India's Coach of the Year: 2022