Indian football needs to ‘wake up’, says men’s head coach Igor Stimac-Sports News , Firstpost

File image of Igor Stimac.

Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac explained the previous statement at a press conference that was blown out of proportion according to him.

Stimac highlighted that immediate steps are needed and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Committee of Administrators (CoA) needs to plan for the future along with him. As India qualified for the Asian Cup 2023, Stimac has some ambitious plans and has tried to set them out to the AIFF. However, with his contract period ending in September 2022, it is doubtful if his proposals will see any action.

In an interview with the Times of India, Stimac said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen (beyond September) but I expect the CoA (committee of administrators) to call me and discuss what is needed for the national team, immediately. We need an immediate reaction. We need meetings. I have information that this meeting (with CoA) will happen next week. We will discuss everything. We need to schedule games for March (window) and also look at games in September. We need to start planning the camp in April which will be six to eight weeks prior to the Asian Cup.”

Speaking about the recent media interaction, that became a talking point, Stimac explained, “I said a lot of things at the press conference, lot of headlines, but not a single mention where I thanked all stakeholders for the good that was being done.”

“There are things that need to be changed so that the national team has a better future. I don’t want anyone to feel as if I am pointing fingers. The truth is everyone is trying to do its best, but we need to understand that other countries are going forward quicker than us and, in that sense, we need to wake up,” he continued.

India remained unbeaten in the Asian Cup qualifiers, but the wins were against lower-ranked opponents. Stimac believes that it was expected from the Indian side, but he was happy with the comprehensive manner in which India managed to win.

However, the Croatian coach feels that the team and the administration have to put in more effort to further improve the sport in India.

“It’s very possible (to have longer training camps amidst club engagements). Instead of having four days prior to the match, we need two weeks and that’s not a big change with regards to the actual calendar. We need to make sure in September that the national team gets enough time for proper preparations.”

India will face some strong opponents at the Asia Cup in July 2023. Stimac expects sufficient time for training, similar to what the team had during the qualifiers. “What I expect is very similar to what we had now, minimum seven weeks, and this time I hope there will be no problem with players being involved in AFC competitions. Most of the players joined us in the middle of the camp or very late (in the current year). That disturbed our work. You could see, for such reasons, most of the players from Mumbai City and ATK Mohun Bagan were not there for our games.”

Albeit, the plans will not see daylight if Stimac’s contract is not renewed for the period subsequent to September 2022. “I do have offers on the table and will wait till July, not longer than that. I cannot afford to wait for a very long time,” said Stimac on the possibility of him continuing with Indian team.

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