Igor Stimac by no means stops smiling. Even when speaking about a number of the prickly points holding again Indian soccer. And definitely not when trying ahead to the Asian Cup, for which he hopes to remain on because the coach of the nationwide crew.
India, final Tuesday, certified for the continental championship, rounding off the qualifiers with an emphatic 4-0 win over Hong Kong. The free-flowing, high-intensity efficiency got here as an antidote for Indian soccer which was reeling after a number of blows – the below-par performances of the nationwide crew, which led to an enormous finances reduce by the federal government, the appointment of directors by the Supreme Court to run the federation which raised the potential for a FIFA ban.
The final bit, the court docket motion towards the AIFF and a attainable FIFA sanction, had Stimac fearful. So, on this backdrop, the three wins and the qualification made him ‘very happy’. But he’s cautious to not get carried away. “I wouldn’t like to be euphoric like the supporters are,” he says. “Everyone expected us to qualify so that’s not a special achievement.”
From a comfortable nook of his lodge room in Warsaw, Stimac doesn’t simply need to replicate on his second of glory, which has come after ‘difficult and turbulent’ moments, and throughout the three years that had ‘more downs than ups’. But, he says: “I rather speak about problems instead of keeping quiet.”
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And so, Stimac, the defensive pillar of Croatia’s first golden technology of gamers – the batch that reached the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup – goes on the offensive relating to the problems that Indian soccer is at the moment dealing with.
He talks about issues that he’s referred to many occasions earlier than – the significance of getting an extended season with extra matches, giving Indian gamers extra taking part in time, having longer period nationwide crew coaching camps, and urging the federal government to revise its coverage vis-à-vis PIOs taking part in for India.
Stimac then takes head-on a difficulty that’s whispered in soccer circles however not handled effectively: the scheduling of the home season, which relies upon largely on the Indian Premier League, which is broadcast on the identical platform because the ISL.
“Things need to be sorted out about the football calendar, which is still being adjusted with regards to IPL and broadcasting… This needs to stop if we want to make football great in India. Football calendar should not depend on other things,” he says.
“India is blessed to have a sport as popular as cricket but shouldn’t be afraid to have another sport becoming as popular. And to do so, they need to open the door to football. Otherwise, it will not happen. Football shouldn’t suffer because of cricket,” Stimac says.
With IPL media rights for the subsequent 5 years going for greater than $6 billion, does Stimac worry that it’ll additional impression the home season? “India is blessed to have a sport as popular as cricket but shouldn’t be afraid to have another sport becoming as popular. And to do so, they need to open the door to football. Otherwise, it will not happen. Football shouldn’t suffer because of cricket,” Stimac says.
Asked why he’s speaking about these points now, three years after arriving in India, Stimac replies: “Throughout the last three years, we were not in a position to talk too much. It was better for us to concentrate on work.”
Stimac took over as India’s coach in May 2019. He appeared ready for the job, trying meticulous along with his analysis on the Indian gamers and appeared to have a plan. It started effectively, too, with the crew practically upsetting Oman within the first match of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup joint qualifiers after which holding Asian champions Qatar to a draw.
The wheels then got here off. Before the three back-to-back wins throughout the Asian Cup qualifiers within the final fortnight, India had received simply six out of 25 matches below Stimac. “When I took the job, I was expecting a far different situation, I was expecting everyone to be committed and ready to help the national team rise.”
That, Stimac claims, didn’t all the time occur. He cites cases the place gamers, generally, arrived for nationwide crew duties from their respective golf equipment an ‘hour-and-a-half prior’ to a recreation. Many occasions, some key gamers, he claims, reported to the camp injured, which pressured him to discipline debutants and tinker with the taking part in 11. “…So I was rather concentrating on the job trying to make sure we don’t mess up,” he provides.
Stimac contract runs out in September. SY Quraishi, who heads the three-member Committee of Administrators that’s at the moment operating the day-to-day affairs of the All India Football Federation, has reportedly stated they are going to look into it and resolve what must be carried out. Although Stimac says he’s dedicated to India and desires to handle the crew on the Asian Cup subsequent 12 months, he desires a dialogue on his future quickly.
He additionally insists on longer camps and higher communication with the ISL golf equipment relating to releasing the gamers and guaranteeing they’re absolutely match. “ISL will not make India fall in love with Indian football. Only the national team will do that,” Stimac says.
“It is important to understand that the football calendar is different from the normal calendar. Coaches are employed prior to pre-season; their employment happens in June, latest July. So things need to be done earlier than he thinks,” he says. “I am very committed to AIFF. We finished three years of work, qualified for the Asian Cup and I would love to take this team and prove to everyone that India can do better.”
His future because the coach would possibly nonetheless not be safe however that hasn’t stopped Stimac from planning. He hopes {that a} extra streamlined upcoming season can be helpful for all, has recognized his core group of gamers that features those that have been part of the Asian Cup qualifiers squad, and is already planning to have 4 worldwide friendlies throughout the two FIFA home windows in September and March.
He additionally insists on longer camps and higher communication with the ISL golf equipment relating to releasing the gamers and guaranteeing they’re absolutely match. “ISL will not make India fall in love with Indian football. Only the national team will do that,” he says.
Stimac doesn’t cease smiling. But that doesn’t take the sting out of his phrases.
