Reports | Albert Roca, Sven-Goran Eriksson in the fray to become next India coach

Along with Eriksson and Roca, Tommy Taylor (England), Hakan Ericson (Sweden), Tomislav Sivic (Serbia), Lee Clark (England) and Lucas Alcaraz Gonzalez (Spain) are some of the other candidates shortlisted for the prestigious job. Sven-Goran was in charge of the three lions football team for five years until 2006 and had last month expressed his interest regarding it to AIFF senior officials. The Indian team's improved displays in the last couple of years and their impressive performance at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup has attracted over 250 applications, which included some big names from Europe.

"The federation has received over 250 applications. 125 were selected after that and out of which 80 qualified as per the AIFF's requirements. After that, around 35-40 names, based on various criteria, have been forwarded to the technical committee. Seven to eight will be called for the final interviews, following which the appointment will be made," an AIFF official told PTI.

Meanwhile, with Roca at the helm of affairs, Bengaluru FC played four finals in his two seasons in charge - making the final of the AFC Cup in 2016 and the Federation Cup and ISL in 2017, and the Super Cup in 2018.