"They always talk about new investors, but nobody believes in it anymore"- Former coach Manolo Marquez on crisis-ridden Hyderabad FC | ISL 2023-24
Few men know Hyderabad FC better than Manolo Marquez. The Spaniard, who was in charge of the club for three seasons, and played an instrumental role in picking them up from the abyss they found themselves in at the end of their inaugural year, has moved northwest to FC Goa now.
Marquez, who won the Indian Super League ( ISL) title with the Nawabs, is coming back to take them on as Goa's head coach on Thursday, February 1 at the Maidaan in Gachibowli.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Marquez provided a damning assessment of what he thought of the crises that has engulfed Hyderabad FC in totality by now.
"It's true that my feelings now are different from what they were six months ago. Even I am sad about the situation in Hyderabad. A lot of people who work very hard in the club have not been paid. Not just players, but staff as well. A lot of the players and staff who are not at the club now have complained and taken the issue further. It is a big problem for Hyderabad. Let us see how they can solve the issue," said Marquez.
"I think they talk always about new investors coming in, but nobody believes in it anymore. Yesterday, four of their main players left the club. I am sad because, in football, it is very difficult to build things, but very easy to destroy them. But we have to play. It will not be easy for us. The main target is to get the three points," he added.
However, the wily 55-year-old was careful enough to not let his wards become arrogant solely because Hyderabad do not have any foreigners in their squad apart from club captain Joao Victor.
"In my first season here in India (with Hyderabad), we were playing against Kerala Blasters, and we expected five foreigners to play, but they ended up playing only two. If you look at Hyderabad now, they did exceptionally well in the Super Cup apart from the game against Sreenidi Deccan. This will be a tough game for us. Since this is the first game of the second phase of the league, they will give their best and compete," said Marquez.
"Borja will be on the bench for us" - Manolo Marquez on Borja Herrera's availability
Marquez knows that despite Hyderabad missing out on most of their top players, they will not be an easy team to beat.
This sounds almost ludicrous given that the Nawabs have not opened their account in the ISL this season, languishing right at the bottom of the standings with just four points earned from drawn encounters.
FC Goa, on the other hand, are perched in the second position of the standings with 24 points to their name.
However, one of the challenges facing Marquez is the injury sustained by central defender Sandesh Jhingan on national duty in the AFC Asian Cup.
"I can't give an exact update on Sandesh's injury. We are awaiting another opinion but the feeling is that it is going to be a long one. We will need to sign another player since we do not have too many defenders in the squad, but it is better to wait and watch till the end," said Marquez.
"This is football. I faced this last season with Hyderabad as well. (Laxmikant) Kattimani was out with ACL and Gurmeet (Singh) came in and did well for four months. Then we lost Joao Victor for almost the entire second phase, but we managed to do well with other players. The team has to be competitive. In my opinion, Victor (Rodriguez) was the best player in the ISL until his injury. Sandesh too is one of the best- if not the best- central defenders in the country. The injury came very late- we do not have much time in the transfer window to find a new signing," he added.
With Goa having added former Hyderabad and current East Bengal midfielder Borja Herrera to their ranks on loan, Marquez was questioned on his availability as well.
"Borja will be on the bench for us. He played just two days ago in the final of the Super Cup. He trained with us yesterday, but it was only a recovery session. If we have 21 players available, he will not travel. If we don't, his name will be on the list," concluded the Spaniard.