Indian Football In 2025: Different Coaches But Same Disappointment

The year 2025 was meant to be one of stabilisation and renewal for the Indian men's national football team, yet it quickly became an intense study in transition and missed opportunities. Spanish coach Manolo Marquez started the year still in charge, tasked with navigating the crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and addressing the enormous goalscoring void that remained after Sunil Chhetri's emotional farewell in mid-2024. The solution to the striking dilemma arrived in a dramatic U-turn in March 2025, when Chhetri - one of India's greatest strikers, though aged 40 now - reversed his retirement to help the national cause.

This unexpected comeback, at the insistence of then-coach Marquez, was hailed as a temporary reprieve but simultaneously exposed a brutal truth: Indian football's development pipeline had failed to produce a worthy successor. Chhetri's return was necessitated by the team's chronic inability to score, particularly in competitive matches. His comeback match, a victory over Maldives, offered a brief moment of hope, but this momentum stalled immediately. The subsequent, critical AFC qualifying matches saw the team revert to its struggling pattern, with a frustrating goalless draw against Bangladesh and mounting pressure on Marquez.

Jamil Replacing Marquez But Same Issues Remain

The team's struggles escalated sharply in the summer, culminating in Marquez's early sacking. Despite the presence of the talismanic forward, the team continued to suffer from a prolonged goal drought in competitive fixtures. Chhetri played six matches during this period, scoring only once, and the physical demands of international football coupled with the team's collective failure meant the competitive urgency that had pulled him back soon evaporated. The period of turbulence ultimately concluded with a hugely significant decision by the AIFF in August: the appointment of Khalid Jamil as Head Coach, the first Indian to take charge of the senior side in over a decade.

Jamil's tenure started with a historic bronze medal at the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 following a fighting victory over Oman, but the optimism was short-lived. The return to the Asian Cup Qualifiers in the autumn confirmed the final, inevitable disappointment. Crucial fixtures against Singapore and a demoralising defeat to Bangladesh in November ensured India's elimination from the tournament.

ISL Logjam And Chhetri's Second Retirement

Adding to the complexity, the perennial issue of the ISL logjam, where key national team players reported to the camp fatigued and late due to the demanding domestic league schedule, severely hampered training time and team cohesion throughout the year, an infrastructural problem no coach could bypass. Following this failure, Chhetri quietly confirmed his second and definitive international retirement in late 2025, underscoring the collective failure of the Asian Cup 2027 qualification campaign.

By the close of 2025, the painful pattern remained dishearteningly familiar: a talented squad, immense national expectation, multiple coaches, and a consistent failure to deliver results on the international stage. The fact that the legend of Indian football had to be summoned from retirement, only to depart again after the team's elimination, serves as the ultimate reminder of the deep-seated structural problems. The year ended with the Blue Tigers languishing at a lower FIFA rank, still firmly awaiting the breakthrough moment that continually eludes them.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Sunil Chhetri Football