Winning Intercontinental Cup would be great, says Igor Stimac

The appointment of former Croatia defender Igor Stimac as the new coach of the Indian football team is seen as a positive sign for the future of the game in the country. Stimac had earlier coached Croatia to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, spoke at length about his plans in the camp and explained the “complicated process” of playing attractive football.

"I am eagerly waiting to get back to work. I miss my players and our daily work. I am looking forward to see how much they have done last few weeks with regards to the individual working programmes we provided to them.

"It’s important we take the next step forward after beating Thailand on their home soil. Winning the Hero Intercontinental Cup would be great for us. But I am still not insisting on results. Instead, I would rather concentrate on improvement on ball possession, and movements without ball. All our work has been chalked out concentrating on the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. But obviously, every game we win on the pathway will help us to further boost our confidence," Stimac said, as per the AIFF official site.

The former Derby County defender added that he is content with the passion and hardwork on display at the national camps. Stimac also made a plea to supporters to flock to Ahmedabad in July.

"Till now, I am extremely delighted with their commitment and willingness to learn and progress on their technical and physical abilities. To become successful in playing an attractive brand of football involves a very complicated process of work. But I stay confident that we are going to make it happen together.

"I would like to use this opportunity to invite all our supporters to get behind our boys and be our 12th man in Ahmedabad July 7-19, 2019," Stimac added.