Since India's independence, there have been many different coaches for the national team, out of which some were foreign. The most successful coach for India was Syed Abdul Rahim, who led India to gold in both the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games while also achieving a fourth-place finish during the 1956 Summer Olympics.

While the most successful foreign coaches for India were Bob Houghton and Stephen Constantine; both of them helped the team to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup. With Houghton in charge from 2006 to 2011, India won the Nehru Cup twice and the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008, which allowed them to participate in their first AFC Asian Cup for 27 years.

Since Houghton resigned as head coach in 2011, the Indian national team's FIFA ranking touched its lowest at 173 in the team history in March 2015, but Stephen Constantine, who was appointed for the second time as the head coach of India, revived the Indian team from its meagre condition.

Under Constantine, the team remained unbeaten for two years from June 2016 to March 2018 winning 11 matches and drawn 2 matches, which helped them to qualify for 2019 AFC Asian Cup, 8 years since Houghton left. He also helped the team to reach a better FIFA ranking of 96 in July 2017, which was the best in last 21 years.

Let's have a look at every Indian Team Football coach since 1948.

Every Indian Team Football Coach

Manolo Márquez

Appointed - July 20, 2024
Post Ended - July 2, 2025
Matches - 8

Manolo Marquez was appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s football team in June last year. Under his tenure, the Blue Tigers picked up just one win in eight matches, a 3-0 victory over the Maldives in a friendly in March.

Marquez took over the top job in Indian football after guiding Hyderabad FC to the Indian Super League (ISL) title in the 2021-22. He also won the Super Cup trophy with FC Goa earlier this year. Last year, he juggled dual responsibilities, serving as head coach of FC Goa during the 2024-25 season while continuing his role as head coach of the Indian national team.

Igor Stimac

Appointed - May 15, 2019
Post Ended - June 17, 2024
Matches - 53

Igor Stimac, who was part of the famous Croatia side which finished third in the FIFA World Cup 1998 in France, had replaced Englishman Stephen Constantine as India’s head coach in 2019.

Stimac's five-year-long tenure has been a mixed bag for Indian football. He led India to the SAFF Championship title twice in 2021 and 2023. India also won the 2023 Tri-Nation Series and Intercontinental Cup under him. However, India’s performances at higher-tier football events under Stimac have been disappointing at best. Despite qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar, India failed to register a single point or goal in the group stage of the main event.

Under the Croat, India made the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers but failed to progress any further after a slew of disappointing results on the field. Stimac has been in charge of the Indian senior team in 53 international matches, winning 19, drawing 14 and losing 20.

Stephen Constantine

Appointed - January 16, 2015
Post Ended - January 31, 2019
Matches - 43

This was Stephen Constantine's second tenure as India's coach when he took up the job in 2015. He previously served as the boss between 2002 and 2005. The combined seven years makes him the longest-serving foreign manager for the Indian team.

Under Constantine, India witnessed a surge in the Fifa world rankings, famously breaking into the top-100 last year after a string of good results. In early 2016, Constantine tasted silverware with the Indian team as his side beat Afghanistan 2-1 to win the SAFF Championship title. Between 2017 and 2018, the Indian team went on a memorable unbeaten streak of 13 games before crashing to a 1-2 loss against Kyrgyzstan.

The Indians also won the Intercontinental cup on home soil and booked their place in the AFC Asian Cup after missing out on the 2015 edition under his coaching.

Every Indian Team Football Coach Since 1948

Name	Appointed	End of time in post	Time in post	Matches	PP
Manolo Márquez	Jul 20, 2024	Jul 2, 2025	347 days	8	0.88
Igor Stimac	May 15, 2019	Jun 17, 2024	1860 days	53	1.34
Stephen Constantine	Jan 16, 2015	Jan 31, 2019	1476 days	43	1.81
Wim Koevermans	Jul 1, 2012	Oct 7, 2014	828 days	15	1.20
Savio Medeira	Oct 28, 2011	Jun 30, 2012	246 days	13	1.31
Armando Colaco	May 17, 2011	Oct 27, 2011	163 days	4	0.25
Bob Houghton	Jul 1, 2006	Apr 23, 2011	1757 days	34	1.29
Syed Nayeemuddin	Sep 30, 2005	Mar 9, 2006	160 days	4	1.00
Stephen Constantine	May 24, 2002	Apr 1, 2005	1043 days	9	0.56
Sukhwinder Singh	Jul 1, 2001	Jun 30, 2002	364 days	0	-
Islam Akhmedov	Jan 1, 2001	Dec 31, 2001	364 days	2	0.00
Rustam Akramov	Jan 1, 1995	Dec 31, 1997	1095 days	3	1.33
Jiri Pesek	Jul 1, 1993	Jun 30, 1994	364 days	0	-
Derek D'Souza	Jul 1, 1992	Jun 30, 1993	364 days	0	-
Chuni Goswami	Jul 1, 1991	Jun 30, 1992	365 days	1	0.00
József Gelei	Feb 4, 1990	Jun 30, 1992	877 days	1	0.00
Syed Nayeemuddin	Jul 1, 1987	Jun 30, 1989	730 days	2	0.00
P.K. Banerjee	Jul 1, 1985	Jun 30, 1986	364 days	0	-
Arun Ghosh	Jul 1, 1984	Jun 30, 1985	364 days	0	-
Milovan Ciric	Jul 1, 1984	Jun 30, 1985	364 days	0	-
Joe Kinnear	Jul 1, 1983	Jun 30, 1984	365 days	1	0.00
P.K. Banerjee	Jul 1, 1981	Jun 30, 1982	364 days	0	-
Bob Bootland	Jul 1, 1981	Jun 30, 1982	364 days	0	-
G.M.H. Basha	Jul 1, 1979	Jun 30, 1980	365 days	0	-
Arun Ghosh	Jul 1, 1978	Jun 30, 1979	364 days	0	-
G.M.H. Basha	Jul 1, 1976	Jun 30, 1977	364 days	0	-
Sheoo Mewalal	Jul 1, 1976	Jun 30, 1977	364 days	0	-
Jarnail Singh	Jul 1, 1975	Jun 30, 1976	365 days	0	-
P.K. Banerjee	Jul 1, 1972	Jun 30, 1974	729 days	0	-
G.M.H. Basha	Jul 1, 1970	Jun 30, 1971	364 days	0	-
Jarnail Singh	Jul 1, 1968	Jun 30, 1969	364 days	0	-
Sailen Manna	Jul 1, 1967	Jun 30, 1968	365 days	0	-
S.R. Deb	Jul 1, 1966	Jun 30, 1967	364 days	0	-
Sachindranath Mitra	Jul 1, 1965	Jun 30, 1966	364 days	0	-
Mohammed Hussain	Jul 1, 1964	Jun 30, 1967	1094 days	0	-
G.M. Pentiah	Jul 1, 1963	Jun 30, 1964	365 days	0	-
Harry Wright	Jun 12, 1963	Jun 4, 1964	358 days	1	0.00
Sailen Manna	Jul 1, 1960	Jun 30, 1961	364 days	0	-
T Shome	Jul 1, 1957	Jun 30, 1958	364 days	0	-
Saroj Bose	Jul 1, 1954	Jun 30, 1955	364 days	0	-
Abdul Rahim	Jul 1, 1950	Jun 30, 1963	4747 days	8	1.13
Balaidas Chatterjee	Jul 1, 1948	Jun 30, 1949	364 days	0	-

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