NEW DELHI: India’s abysmal show at the
Asian Cup
-- zero points, zero goals and six conceded in three games -- and for all his nationalistic grandstanding on social media,
Igor Stimac
’s refusal to take any responsibility for it, has rankled the
AIFF
brass. The March 2024 meetings with Afghanistan in the second round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers are largely being seen now as providing an opportunity for a beleaguered All India
Football
Federation to finally take a call on the senior National coach’s future – does he go or does he stay on.
“At the moment, it is too precarious to make any sweeping changes,” an official in the AIFF told TOI, “(But) It is true that our poor performance in the Asian Cup has been alarming. The March World Cup qualifying games could be the catalyst for us (to decide the future).
“But then, we were banking on the same thing against Syria too in the Asian Cup. See how that turned out” the official admitted.
India stands a fine chance of advancing to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers. They are largely expected to beat Afghanistan over the two games on Mar 21 (away) and Mar 26 (home) and fancy their chances when they host Kuwait on June 6 next before the away meeting with Qatar on June 11. It was largely believed that both parties would part amicably with the third-round qualification as an added highlight on Stimac’s resume. The fiasco in Qatar however has brought the March ties in immediate focus regarding the Croat’s future.
Despite his two-year extension in August last year, it is possible that the India-Stimac relationship has run its course with the coach’s run-ins with the inflexible ISL over player-availability and preparation camp time. On Tuesday, while India was meekly exiting the Asian Cup, a section of the Croation media reported on X that Stimac was tipped as favourite for the Dinamo Zagreb job in the Croatian league.
Stimac was also issued a stern written warning by the AIFF, TOI has learnt, not to comment anything against
Indian football
, the AIFF or the Sports Ministry on social media or public platform, without prior approval. This latest warning in November follows the September 2023 show-cause to the coach after unsavory comments against the AIFF in a section of the media. This time he had declared that the World Cup qualifiers held more weight than the Asian Cup and thus were more important to him. “It became very uncomfortable for us. The ministry even began enquiring about our true intentions, our plans and vision. After all, we receive funds from the ministry,” said the official.
The Asian Cup non-performance has also forced the focus on the continuing inclusion of some of the senior players in the set-up despite their waning influence on the pitch, but whether the AIFF is up to the task remains to be seen. If whispers within the squad are to be believed, there is a clique of senior players which essentially calls the shots on team selection and the coach knows it is best not to rock the boat.
Rumours of a lack of leadership from the coach despite his public perception, strange team selections and equally bewildering strategy and tactics in the Indian senior squad have been doing the rounds for a while now. For instance, against Syria, Stimac admitted that he had planned to allow the highly physical and fitter opposition players to run and control the game till the 60th minute, following which he would introduce key players through substitutions that would surprise the west Asian team. Everybody knows how it eventually turned out.
Casually shrugging off the Qatar fiasco as “our reality at this level” and repeatedly asking for Persons of Indian Origin footballers, despite the country’s laws disallowing it, what has also come to attention is the strange, unexplained appointment of Trevor Sinclair, with little or no coaching experience, mere days ahead of the Asian Cup. Despite the presence of a well-appointed Technical Committee to ratify such appointments, very few in the AIFF can seem to be able to explain the former England international’s presence within the coaching staff at the last minute. Ostensibly roped in as a set-piece specialist, Stimac’s West Ham teammate was hired for a reported sum of $10,000 for the duration of the tournament.
“It is still undefined what his role in the Asian Cup was. Of course, it was approved by the Finance Committee,” an official added, confirming, though that Sinclair was appointed for no longer than the Asian Cup. “We let him have his way this time because he cribs for everything,” was the initial shocking revelation on Stimac’s insistence for Sinclair by an AIFF insider. “There was a goalkeeping coach that was suggested too, we chose only Sinclair.” In any case, with the reported $10,000 fee and just three games overseen, Sinclair has surely hit paydirt.
“We will discuss the Sinclair appointment, along with the coach’s report,” the AIFF official said. Stimac and the coaching staff will be in the Capital on Thursday for visa work and a review with the Technical Committee on the Asian Cup fiasco is expected to take place. “We will await Stimac’s report. The president Kalyan Chaubey will be in the Capital by Thursday, he will be present too,” he added.
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