 "A new Indian football team coach is expected to be picked in August. Images: Robbie Fowler on X/Stephen Constantine on X")
Former India coach Stephen Constantine, Liverpool legends Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell and Jamshedpur FC’s Khalid Jamil are among the 170 applicants for the Indian men’s football team head coach role, following Manolo Marquez’s departure from the Blue Tigers earlier this month.
Marquez, who is back with Indian Super League (ISL) side FC Goa, left the Indian men’s football team head coach position after a one-year tumultuous tenure, which has seen the team plummet to 133rd FIFA ranking.
Liverpool great applies for Indian football team job
The AIFF is now in need to quickly find a replacement as India are still fighting to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia. Among the many applicants, the most prominent are former Liverpool footballers Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell, former Barcelona reserves manager Jordi Vinyals and former Brazil U-17 coach Caio Zanardie, as per a report in the Times of India.
Former Tajikistan, Maldives and Afghanistan coach Peter Segrt, Mauritania coach Aritz Lopez Garai and Roel Coumans, who was part of the Australian team coaching staff at the 2018 World Cup, have also applied to AIFF.
The Indian football federation, however, is not happy as it feels the “high-profile” candidates are missing. “Last year there was massive interest in the job, many of them (current) national team coaches and those who had managed teams at the FIFA World Cup,” a senior AIFF official told TOI. “This time around, there’s also interest from across the world, but not as many high-profile candidates.”
Will Constantine get a third tenure?
Constantine, who has coached India in 73 matches across two tenures, is one of the most familiar names. He has won multiple tournaments with India, including the LG Cup (2002), SAFF Cup (2015), Tri Nation Series (2017) and Inter-Continental Cup (2018).
Antonio Lopez Habas and Sergio Lobera, who have trophies in ISL, are also in contention after applying for the job. Former Punjab FC coach Staikos Vergetis, who won the I-League with them, has also applied.
The list of Indian coaches who have applied for the top job includes Khalid Jamil, Sanjoy Sen and Santosh Kashyap.
The AIFF is still to pick a list of final candidates, who will be interviewed before a final appointment is made.
India’s next match is against Singapore, away from home, but they may also play some friendlies in September and October FIFA windows. They are currently at the bottom of their group in the final round of qualifiers after losing 1-0 to Hong Kong last month.
India still have four matches left in the group, but only the winner will qualify for the Asian Cup, which means the Blue Tigers must aim for four wins out of all remaining matches.