The All India Football Federation’s Technical Committee (TC) met virtually on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, to shortlist candidates for the role of Head Coach of the Senior Men’s Indian Football Team.
Following India’s defeat against Hong Kong, former national team head coach Manolo Márquez stepped down from his position. Manolo had been juggling both club duties with FC Goa and the national team responsibilities, which eventually took a toll.
After his resignation, the AIFF received an overwhelming 170 applications for the prestigious role.
The TC carefully reviewed all the applications and has now shortlisted three candidates: Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine, and Štefan Tarkovič.
Some of the big names who had applied for the position of India’s head coach include former Liverpool stars Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell, ISL-winning tacticians Antonio Habas and Sergio Lobera, I-League champions Staikos Vergetis and Andrey Chernyshov, along with prominent Indian coaches like Sanjoy Sen, and Santosh Kashyap. Eventually, the committee narrowed the list down to three names.
Khalid Jamil first made headlines when he guided Aizawl FC to a historic I-League title with a low-budget squad — scripting one of Indian football’s greatest underdog stories.
Stephen Constantine, who previously served as the head coach of the Indian team, is keen on a return. During his earlier stint, he led India into the FIFA Top 100 rankings — a remarkable achievement.
Štefan Tarkovič, though relatively unfamiliar to Indian football fans, is an experienced tactician. The former Slovakia national team head coach has also served as assistant coach and technical director. Most recently, he managed the Kyrgyzstan national team in 2023. Tarkovič gained recognition during Euro 2020 when he guided Slovakia to a notable victory over Poland, showcasing disciplined tactics and smart game control. With previous stints at top Slovak clubs like MŠK Žilina, Tatran Prešov, and Košice, he became known for maximizing output with limited means. He began his national team journey as an assistant in 2013. More recently, as head coach of Kyrgyzstan, he made history by securing their spot in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and advancing them to the third round of World Cup qualifiers for the first time, before stepping down in mid-2024 after achieving his goals.
The Technical Committee has forwarded the resumes of the three shortlisted candidates to the Executive Committee, which will now take the final call on who becomes the next head coach of the Blue Tigers.
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