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Since Stephen Constantine stepped down as the head coach of the Indian National Football at the end of the AFC Asian Cup 2019, in January, speculation had been rife as to who his successor would be.
While some reports even linked Sam Allardyce and Sven-Goran Eriksson to the role, it is now understood that even though the two did express interest, they have not applied for the top job.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is said to have received more than 40 applications for the job, and it is likely that a shortlist will be drawn out soon - as the deadline for the applications was shut on 29th March.
According to a report in the Times of India, while the previous coach was reportedly earning $3,00,000 per year, the new man in charge could even get $3,50,000 to $4,00,000 per annum.
Here's a look at the top six candidates who have applied for the job.
#1 Albert Roca
Indian football fans, by now, need no introduction to Roca. The former Bengaluru FC head coach managed to carve out a niche for himself in his two years in Indian football, and quickly became one of the most respected figures in the game in the country.
Roca's Bengaluru played four finals in his two seasons in charge - making the final of the AFC Cup in 2016, the Federation Cup in 2017 and the ISL and Super Cup in 2018. Bengaluru won the Federation Cup and the Super Cup, but fell short in the AFC Cup and the ISL.
Roca's Bengaluru dominated the ISL league stages like no other side has in the five years of the competition, though, finishing eight points ahead of their closest competitor, and being the only side in the brief history of the ISL to have amassed 40 points in a single season.
Roca also took Bengaluru to being the first ever Indian side to reach the final of the AFC Cup - when they beat Johor Darul Ta'zim 3-1 in the second leg of the semifinal of the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Bengaluru lost the final 1-0 to Iraq's Air Force Club, but had still trudged where no Indian club had been before.
Frank Rijkaard's assistant at Barcelona, Roca is now the favourite to take over as the Indian team's head coach, and it is not surprising. Roca has fair experience in Indian football, he's worked with many of the players in the current India squad before (Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan, Nishu Kumar, Subhasish Bose), so it will not be an alien task for him to settle in to.
Can his style be implemented immediately with the national team? No. But, with time and unequivocal backing, it is not hard to see Roca building a philosophy and a method that Indian Football can follow for years to come.
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#2 Eelco Schattorie
Another of the applicants who is no stranger to Indian football, Schattorie only kept adding to his reputation, with his exploits with NorthEast United in ISL 2018-19.
For the first time in the five years of the ISL, NorthEast managed to qualify for the playoffs and that was largely down to the excellent usage of his resources by Schattorie. They lost in the semifinal to eventual champions, Bengaluru, but not before giving the Blues an almighty scare.
NorthEast were unlucky with injuries in the semifinal, where they had Bartholomew Ogbeche and Rowllin Borges ruled out, before seeing Federico Gallego pick up a horror leg-break during the game. That shouldn't take away from what was a sensational season, where they continually punched above their weight.
Schattorie made a promise of good football at the start of the season, and throughout the season, he went about ensuring that his side didn't waver from that. Although they had only five goalscorers all season, it was a complete team effort from the Highlanders.
Schattorie worked with the lowest budget in the league to build a squad that punched above its weight in all respects. He even showed that he could improve the Indian players over the course of the season.
Borges had his most productive season yet. Lalthathanga Khawlhring and Redeem Tlang were livewires on the flank all season. Reagan Singh was one of the most consistent performers in the league, while Keegan Pereira and Robert Lalthlamuana both did their job when asked to do it.
Schattorie had been vocal towards the end of the season that a national team job is something that he would love to add to his CV, and it's no surprise that his name is in the hat, to succeed Constantine.
#3 Igor Stimac
The former Croatian National Team manager has also applied to be the new India head coach, but based on his recent managerial record, it could be a massive gamble by the AIFF, if they choose to appoint Stimac.
His last role as a head coach was with Iranian club Sepahan, where he took over in November 2015. By April 2016, his position at the club had become untenable, as they found themselves 11th in the league table, and knocked out of the domestic cup and the AFC Champions League.
His most high-profile job was as the head coach of Croatia, for whom he took over after Euro 2012, after Slaven Bilic's departure.
The qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup was a rocky ride for Croatia. Under Stimac, there were a series of underwhelming performances, which led to the public turning on him, too. In the end, Croatia scraped through to the playoffs, but Stimac tendered his resignation even before the playoffs - through which they were taken by current Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac.
Since his Croatian championship victory with Hajduk Split in 2004-05, Stimac has had very underwhelming runs wherever he's gone, with stints not lasting more than a year at all of Zadar in the Croatian league, Sepahan and the Croatian national team.
#4 Gianni De Biasi
De Biasi is amongst the highest profile names to have applied for the Indian job. His last job ended in November 2017, barely three months after he took charge of Deportivo Alaves in La Liga - the Spanish first division league.
De Biasi, though, had a commendable six-year stint as the head coach of the Albanian National Team. In that period, De Biasi's Eagles reached the European Championship for the first time in their history, when they qualified for Euro 2016.
Albania also gave a strong account of themselves, despite two defeats in three games. They lost 1-0 to Switzerland in their opener, before two injury-time strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet condemned De Biasi's side to a 2-0 loss against the hosts. They beat Romania 1-0 in their last game, but missed out on qualification to the Round of 16, only on goal difference, as they finished as the least impressive of the third-placed sides in the competition.
De Biasi's Albania were a tough team to break down, and were extremely disciplined. If the 62-year-old Italian carries that on to India, then in some ways, the foundations have already been set up for him. Stephen Constantine's side played similar football, were awfully difficult to break down, and sometimes were painfully poor in the attacking side of things.
#5 Hakan Ericson
The 58-year-old Swede Hakan Ericson is a real wildcard applicant. His last job in charge of any senior team was in 2003, but he has still done some great work in recent years.
Since 2009, he has been involved in some capacity or other with the Swedish U-21 National Team.
In 2015, Ericson's finest hour came, when he led Sweden to victory in the UEFA U-21 Championships that were held in the Czech Republic.
After a stellar tournament, Sweden beat Portugal 4-3 on penalties in a final, to down a side that had the likes of Bernardo Silva, William Carvalho, Joao Mario and Ivan Cavaleiro in it.
That Swedish side also possessed the likes of John Guidetti, Victor Lindelof and Ludwig Augustinsson, who have now gone on to become mainstays in the senior team for the Scandinavian nation.
Appointing Ericson will be a gamble, but one that could well be worth it, given the sheer number of young players that have already been integrated into the Indian senior set-up.
#6 Massimiliano Maddaloni
Another applicant whose prior head coaching experience has largely been at youth levels, Maddaloni has been Marcelo Lippi's lieutenant during the Italian's spell in China - both with Guangzhou Evergrande and the Chinese national team.
Guangzhou have become a force to reckon with in the Chinese Super League now, and a large part of that credit has to go to Lippi.
Maddaloni was also Ciro Ferrara's assistant both at Juventus and Chinese club Wuhan Zall.
Like De Biasi, Maddaloni was also head coach at Italian club Carpi, although that stint lasted only a year, in 2011.
What we can expect from Maddaloni will definitely be the stereotypical Italian brand of football, with a large focus on being strong defensively, and then springing forward on quick counter-attacks.
India's ability to defend as a unit sometimes came under the spotlight under Constantine, and that is something which, in true Italian style, Maddaloni will be looking to sort out, if he is indeed the man trusted with the reins.
#7 Ashley Westwood
Westwood is another familiar name to Indian football fans, but things haven't exactly gone right for him, ever since he left the role of Bengaluru FC head coach in May 2016, after which he was replaced by Roca.
The Englishman, who was the first ever manager in Bengaluru's history, won three trophies in his three years at South Indian club, with one Federation Cup triumph sandwiched between two I-League titles.
Ever since his departure from Bengaluru, things have gone pear-shaped for Westwood. He was appointed head coach of Malaysian side Penang FA, but that lasted only a few months before he was sacked as a result of the players not buying into his methods.
He then had a stint as the caretaker boss of ATK during the 2017-18 ISL season, after the Kolkata club had sacked Teddy Sheringham. Results were no better under Westwood, either.
At Bengaluru, Westwood is said to have revolutionised the way Indian players trained and thought about football - with a huge emphasis being placed on physical conditioning, the right diet, and other such non-footballing aspects of the club.
With all those in place already at some level in Indian football today, the emphasis will have to be more on the footballing side, and with his recent record, Westwood might well have a few cynics on his head - if he's appointed - even before he's put a side out on the pitch for India.
