Mumbai: The final whistle sounded with Manolo Marquez standing with his hands on his hips. Once he shook off the inertia, he walked to his right to greet and congratulate SC Delhi coach Tomasz Tchorz. And then he walked across the width of the pitch, head down, not looking anybody in the eye, and straight to the dressing room.
The disappointment was clear, as he watched his Mumbai City FC team forgo a 2-0 lead to lose 2-3 to SC Delhi in the Indian Super League last Sunday.
That would prove to be the last time, for now, that the veteran coach would be seen in a Mumbai City shirt.
On Friday morning, the club announced that Marquez had agreed to step away from Mumbai City by mutual consent.
“As with every ISL club this season, we are navigating a new era for Indian football. In many ways, this marks a fresh start for the top tier of the Indian game. We brought Manolo to the club for his experience and track record in Indian football,” the club’s Director of Football Sujay Sharma said in a statement published on the team’s website.
“Our focus now remains on supporting the first team and achieving our objectives for the ongoing season.”
Marquez’s departure marks the first managerial change to take place in this ISL season. It also does not come as much of a surprise as the Spaniard and the club had been at loggerheads from the start of the season in terms of bringing in players.
“If the club decides to substitute the coach, they can do it,” he had said in the post-match press conference on Sunday.
Mumbai winless so far
Mumbai City has struggled to find any rhythm so far this season, with the team losing two and drawing as many games in their first four matches this term.
Against Delhi, the lack of recruits that Marquez had allegedly been complaining about to the team came to the fore, as Mumbai fielded an inexperienced forward line with seasoned starters Vikram Partap Singh and the prolific Wilmar Jordan Gil out with injury.
The team did create several scoring opportunities, but most were wasted and it came back to haunt the team in their first home match of the season.
Asked about the team’s recruitment policy, Marquez asserted he was not the one who could answer.
“You know that in football, not in Mumbai, not in India, in all the world, suddenly one club says we don’t have money. Suddenly they sign a (new) coach and then sign then suddenly they sign players,” he said.
The departure from Mumbai now brings an end to what had become a steadily souring relationship with Indian football for the 58-year-old.
His coaching career in India started well, when he led the erstwhile Hyderabad FC to the ISL Cup in 2021-22, and then followed it up by leading FC Goa to the Super Cup title in 2025.
Along the way, he had been roped in by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to serve as national team coach while also being the manager at FC Goa.
His stint with the Indian team, however, was rather forgettable, as the team managed to win just once in the eight matches he was in charge of. And his tenure with the team lasted just under a year.
The move to Mumbai City came with hopes and expectations from a coach who has had a good record working with younger players. The Mumbai team is brimming with budding talent, but it was the lack of a few experienced heads in crucial positions that reportedly irked Marquez.
The club now has a few weeks to find a new coach due to the international break. Their next game will be against heavyweights Bengaluru FC in an away tie during a campaign that has now become all the more difficult.