NEW DELHI: The technical committee (TC) of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) appears unanimous that coach Igor Stimac should be let go.
Meeting online on Thursday to review the national team’s recent run of poor performances, in particular Tuesday’s home defeat to Afghanistan in Guwahati, the six members of the IM Vijayan-led body in addition to three other senior AIFF functionaries, felt it was time to part ways with the Croatian.
The report, however, has been left pending, subject to other non-technical matters such as the coach’s contractual and remuneration aspects, according to an AIFF official.
“We will get a clearer picture in a day or two, but for the moment this is the consensus within the technical committee. There was near unanimity that he should be asked to leave. I don’t think anyone had any reservations,” a member told TOI on condition of anonymity.
Senior members of AIFF are scheduled to meet on Friday to take a call on the issue.
“He may be a good coach, but if the results are not coming, the practice in football is the axe falls on the coach,” he added. What has further dismayed the TC is that Stimac has been constantly passing the buck even as the Indian team’s performance has plummeted.
“He is making lame excuses. He first said there was not enough time to prepare, then he said the Afghans were better trained. Now he is promising a win over Kuwait in June, but if you see how our performance has slipped from the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru last June, to what has happened now, you cannot understand or explain it.”
Pointing out India’s performance against Qatar in Bhubaneswar last November, the member said, “We may have lost 3-0 but we played a muchimproved game, we were able to make passes and create chances. It gave us hope for the coming matches. But since the start of 2024, the team’s performance has slipped alarmingly.”
There was increasing noise for Stimac to be sacked after the disaster of the Asian Cup earlier this year where India finished at the bottom of the 24-team event. Many felt that AIFF had missed an opportunity then, but an AIFF official revealed that while it was considered, it was also felt that a sudden ouster of the coach would have been too close to the Afghanistan ties.
India’s meetings with Kuwait and Qatar are in June, leaving the AIFF with a bigger window in which to make changes, provided they have the willingness and intent to pull the plug.
