Don't regret on rejecting national coach offer, admits Armando Colaco
Armando Colaco, India’s most successful coach on the domestic circuit in this century, revealed that he never regretted his decision of rejecting the offer made by AIFF for being the manager of the national side. Armando Colaco is now the coach of FC Bardez, a Goa-based football side.
Armando Colaco took up the reins at Dempo Sports at the stroke of the millennium, at a time when it had no major trophies to its name. It was under his guidance that the club became the most successful one in 13 years, having won five I-League titles, one Federation Cup and Durand Cup each along with two Super Cup titles. It was under his supervision that the club reached the semi-final of the AFC Cup in 2008, the first for an Indian club.
It was back in 2011 when Armando Colaco was assigned as the interim coach for the Indian national team for a four-month span. Following which he was offered a one-year contract which he rejected. In an exclusive interview with Scroll.in, the coach admitted that he has no regret in the decision as he believed one year was too little for him to build a team and bring the best out of it.
“I don’t regret anything. You can’t do anything within one year that is why I chose to leave. To assemble the players, it would take me one year itself. If they would have given me two years, it would have been ideal,” said Armando Colaco to Scroll.in.
The Indian national team has taken large strides in the last couple of years, having broken into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings. Colaco lauded the efforts of former national coach Stephen Constantine for the transformation and believes that the current manager should also be given time to prove himself.
“I was happy with the way we performed under Constantine during his second stint. But now that Stimac has come, let’s give him time. You cannot achieve results in a short span. Footballers get accustomed to different systems at their clubs, so when they come together, they need to adjust to his philosophy. These things take time. You cannot build Taj Mahal within a day, a month or even a year,” added Colaco.
