AIFF sack India Under-17 coach Nicolai Adam
India under-17 coach Nicolai Adam has been sacked by the AIFF after the teamās dismal performance at the recently concluded Granatkin Memorial Cup in Moscow, reported the Hindustan Times. Under the German, the Indian colts were not very impressive losing one tournament after other.
The India U-17 side put up a dismal show on their tour to Russia and finished last at the tournament in Moscow, which featured 16 teams from across the world. India could manage just one win from five outings in the tournament.Ā
Adam had previously worked with the Azerbaijan U-19 national team and hadĀ guided them to the UEFA Elite Group. After the dismal show of the Indian colts in Moscow, he was quite critical in his statement and said that the Indian players were no match for the physicality of their opponents, reported the Hindustan Times.
It is understood that AIFF President Praful Patel had talked to Adam and persuaded him to step down with immediate effect.Ā
Appointed in early 2015, Adam's tenure as the coach of the side was not that impressive in the three home tournaments conducted last year. During the period, the team had failed to win a single game in the AIFF Youth Cup held in May. In the AFC U-16 Championship and BRICS Youth Cup in Goa in September and October of last year as well, Indian colts lost as many as five matches from the six games they played.
However, the Colts had shown major improvements as far as goal-scoring is concerned under Adam. Recently, the boys won 2-1 against junior MLS (Major League Soccer) side Orlando City U-17 in the States.Ā
The Under-17 World Cup will be hosted from 6 to 28 October in India and will be the first time that India will host a FIFA tournament.