Marquez, well into his 60s, inherited Hydrabad FC which was far inferior in comparison to the Indian Super League’s heavyweights. But what he did with that team has been the stuff of wonder. Marquez’s faith in his rugged Indian youths, including the likes of Mohammad Yasir, Hitesh Sharma, and the slightly elderly Halicharan Narzary paid tips when his nonnatives were out due to injury. Manolo Márquez is named ESPN India’s Coach of the year 2022.
Manolo Márquez is named ESPN India’s Coach of the year 2022
In comes Marquez, the headmaster. A head of thick swab and pepper hair, neck raised and shoulders crawled a strong Spanish accentuation and a perma- mow. He is not glooming at you, that is just how he wears his face. In his first season, he gave a regard of what his youthful team was able of.
He turned his platoon of killers into the ISL victors by unleashing their implicit and playing them in positions that stylish suited their game. No big megastar player was calling the shots, no bone was bigger than the platoon. Marquez knew what he was doing( the man’s got 35 times of guiding experience!) and he unabashedly backed and trusted his men.
He played Indians in crucial positions, commodity other trainers frequently abstain from. Akash Mishra and Asish Rai were his trusted fullbacks and he used them to the stylish of their capacities. Akash would make a marauding run down the left hand every now and also, while Asish was encouraged to exercise his crossing capacities. Akash and Asish were raw bents they came from Indian Arrows, an experimental youth platoon that used to play in the I- League, Indian football’s alternate division.
The Indians formed the core of the platoon and were necessary in their ISL title triumph. Heck, they could’ve won the League Shield too if not for injuries to crucial players and a COVID surge wreaking annihilation in the platoon just days before the crunch hassle against Jamshedpur FC. Jamshedpur went on to win the League Shield, awarded to the platoon that tops the standings at the end of the league stage.
Indeed this season, a little over mid-way into the ISL season, Hyderabad FC is the platoon to beat. They eclipse the standings( although they have played a fresh game) despite their top striker, Bartholomew Ogbeche, not firing on all cylinders. Ogbeche, ISL’s leading arranger, has three pretensions to his name but so do Yasir and Narzary. And that is Manolo’s magic where other brigades jut their success to their nonnatives’ performances, Manolo distributes the task among his Indian players.
