Focusing on moment over momentum important for Manolo’s Goa
posted in Interviews by FC Goa Official on 7th January 2025
posted in Interviews
by FC Goa Official
on 7th January 2025
Focusing on moment over momentum important for Manolo’s Goa
It’s not often that a coach is asked to draw comparisons between his teams separated by years and continents, but on Tuesday, FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez was tasked with doing just that.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Gaurs‘ upcoming home encounter in the Indian Super League (ISL) against his former side Hyderabad FC, the Spaniard likened his current Goa side to two other teams he has managed – Hyderabad FC, and the UD Las Palmas ‘B’ side.
“Yes, I think with my team in Hyderabad, we had a similar situation, and so did the UD Las Palmas ‘B’ team,” he said, when quizzed about the possibility of feeling a déjà vu right now while honouring his role with the Men in Orange.
“These three teams are the best groups in my career as a coach.”
While it may seem like a routine observation to make for someone who has been coaching for a decade, for fans of FC Goa, those words carry weight.
Eight years ago, Marquez’s Las Palmas ‘B’ side achieved promotion to the Spanish Segunda B Division as champions of the Tercera Division, which led to him being handed the reins of the Las Palmas First Team in LaLiga. In 2022, less than two years after he arrived on Indian shores for the first time to lead Hyderabad, he brought the ISL trophy home to the Nawabs.
And Goa fans want nothing less than the top honours. They’ve been there, done that, and are hence very aware of how it feels to be on top of the world.
Now, with the 56-year-old leading their charge, could what he said be a sign of things to come?
FC Goa fans can dream. Easy, given how the team enjoy the current-longest unbeaten run (8 matches), taking home 20 points out of a possible 24 in the process (the most in this period). Conceding just six goals and dishing out an impressive 18 in return, the Men in Orange have kept their faithful on cloud nine since October with their momentum in the ISL.
Not so simple for Manolo Marquez and his boys, though – and they know that better than anyone else. They’ve been chosen to turn these dreams into reality.
Hence, they choose to focus on the moment, rather than their momentum.
“We have to be ambitious. The first step is to win against Hyderabad FC. It is the most important game for me. Afterwards, I’ll tell you that the next one is the most important (match).
“Tomorrow, we have to show with our performance on the pitch that we are the favourites to win. We will enter the game with the correct mentality – and the correct mentality is that we expect a very good Hyderabad FC and that we have to be the best version of ourselves to face them.
“We’re a team that’s tough to beat, even when we don’t play a good game. That said, anything can happen in this competition. But yes, we’re in a good moment, and if this continues, we can fight for the ISL League Shield,” he further added.
Marquez is all praise when reflecting on the character of his current FC Goa side. “Everyone is important, and I’m enjoying it a lot with this group. You wake up in the morning thinking, ‘wow, now I’ll train with these guys, enjoying, working hard, convinced about what they are doing.’ It’s very nice.”
He did, however, mention one problem – one he has admitted being happy about, a handful of times in the past.
“I have the most difficult job,” he said, when asked about the challenge of naming his starting XIs for matches. “Rules are rules, there will be six foreigners in the squad, and you have to choose four (for the XI). And as a group, we are complete. You have everything in all of them – goal-scoring, hard work, good defending, technical quality, set-pieces…
“It’s a tough job for me, but this is also one of the reasons for telling you that this season will be a good one despite our early results looking not so great.”
And as per usual, Manolo Marquez concluded with a mindful reminder. Referring to the reverse fixture that happened just over a month ago, the tactician said, “We did not play a good game in Hyderabad, we won because we have better players than them.
“We need to be very focused and play a good game tomorrow to beat them,” he signed off.