Igor Stimac faces uphill task ahead of him after being appointed new national coach
Former Croatian footballer Igor Stimac’s appointment as the new head coach of the Indian football team received mixed reviews as he faces a tough task ahead of him in the coming months. Some fans believe that former Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca was a better choice as compared to Stimac.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is yet to officially announce the appointment of Igor Stimac as India's next head coach but there are already doubts being raised about the former World Cup bronze medallist. Many experts and football fans believed that former Bengaluru FC manager Albert Roca, who had applied for the vacant post, was the obvious first choice after the resignation of Stephen Constantin post the AFC Asia Cup earlier this year.
Roca is a renowned coach in India after his stint with Bengaluru FC whom he led to two finals - AFC Cup and Indian Super League. However, reports in TOI revealed that the Spaniard lost out to Stimac due to a "surprisingly poor" poor interview with senior AIFF officials.
Meanwhile, Stimac surprised the interview committee with names of Indian players who had impressed him, giving details about some crucial matches in the I-League and ISL. At the end of the session, Stimac also handed out a list of 36 players who he wanted to have a look ahead of the King's Cup in Thailand.
"Stimac's appointment will have the fans divided right at the start but if you look at the two profiles, you can clearly see that he was ahead of Roca by a mile. Stimac coached European powerhouse Croatia and he will be the first World Cupper to coach an Indian team. Roca's achievements with Bengaluru FC are impressive but as coach of El Salvador, he lost 11 of the 20 matches. We must wait for Stimac to prove himself and not start a mutiny.
"With Stimac's appointment, a message has been sent that we would no longer be happy with just qualifying for the Asian Cup. We want to do well in major tournaments.," said the official. He told us once the appointment is made and the visa is issued, he would take the first available flight to India," an AIFF insider told TOI.
The Indian governing body has plans to begin practice for the King's Cup in Delhi from May 22 onwards. That will be followed by the Inter-Continental Cup in July and the all-important World Cup qualifiers in September.