Manolo Marquez, who is set to start as full-time national football team coach from June after a few months in the dual role of FC Goa’s and India’s head coach, may decide to renew his stay at the ISL club and leave the national team post after the AFC Cup Qualifier match against Hong Kong on June 10.

India will also play a friendly against Thailand on June 4.

It has been reliably learnt that the Spaniard, who last week guided FC Goa to their second Super Cup title and thereby earned a berth in the qualification round of the Asian Champions League 2, is not happy with the way the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is running the national team.

Manolo was appointed as the national coach last July after the AIFF terminated Igor Stimac’s contract. For the just-concluded 2024-25 season, he was allowed to helm FC Goa too. But the 56-year-old is so bitter with the state of affairs that he was mulling walking out of the contract. If that happens, then it will be the first time in the past decade that an India coach would rescind a contract.

The AIFF, though, was confident that Manolo would stay till his contract runs, that is till May 31 next year.

“I spoke to him yesterday (Sunday). He never gave any indication that he was upset with anything.

“We discussed about the national camp before the June matches,” M. Satyanarayana, the AIFF deputy secretary general and in-charge of the national team, told The Telegraph on Monday.

Neither Manolo nor FC Goa officials responded to calls and messages from this newspaper.

AIFF may try to paint a different picture, but Manolo made his intentions clear after the March 25 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Bangladesh in Shillong. India were lucky not to lose that match and managed a barren draw.

Khalid on the radar

The AIFF has sounded out Khalid Jamil to become India’s under-23 coach.

Khalid has done wonders with Jamshedpur FC, guiding them to the ISL-XI playoffs and the Kalinga Super Cup final. He was also voted AIFF coach of the year for the second year in a row.

Sources said Khalid has not yet given his word. He still has two years in his contract with Jamshedpur FC.

“We want him. Hopefully, he will agree,” a source said.