NEW DELHI: India's abysmal show at the Asian Cup -zero points, zero goals and six conceded in three games -and for all his nationalistic grandstanding on social media, Igor Stimac's refusal to take any responsibility for it has rankled the AIFF brass. The March 2024 meetings with Afghanistan in the second round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers are largely being seen now as providing an opportunity for a beleaguered All India Football Federation to finally take a call on the senior national coach's future - does he go or does he stay on.
"At the moment, it is too precarious to make any sweeping changes. It is true that our poor performance in the Asian Cup has been alarming," an official in the AIFF told TOI, "The March World Cup qualifying games could be the catalyst for us. But then, we were banking on the same thing against Syria too in the Asian Cup. See how that turned out" the official admitted.
India stands a fine chance of advancing to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers. They are largely expected to beat Afghanistan over the two games on Mar 21 (away) and Mar 26 (home) and fancy their chances when they host Kuwait on June 6 next before meeting Qatar away on June 11. It was largely believed that both parties would part amicably with the third-round qualification as an added highlight on Stimac's resume. The fiasco in Qatar however have brought the March ties in focus regarding Stimac's future.
Despite his two-year extension in August last year, it is possible that the India-Stimac relationship has run its course with the coach's run-ins with the inflexible ISL over player availability and preparation camp time. On Tuesday, while India were meekly exiting the Asian Cup, a section of the Croation media reported on X that Stimac was tipped as favourite for the Dinamo Zagreb job in Croatia.
TOI has learnt that, following his September show-cause, in November, Stimac was issued a stern written warning by the AIFF not to comment anything against Indian football, the AIFF or the Sports Ministry on social media or public platform without prior approval. This, after he had declared in November that the World Cup qualifiers held more weight than the Asian Cup and thus were more important to him. "It became very uncomfortable for us. The ministry even began enquiring about our intentions, our plans and vision. After all, we receive funds from the ministry," said the official.
The sudden, unexplained appointment of Trevor Sinclair, a former England international with little coaching experience, mere days ahead of the Asian Cup has also compounded matters. Despite the presence of a well-appointed Technical Committee to ratify such appointments, very few in the AIFF can seem to explain Sinclair's presence at the last minute, ostensibly as a set-piece specialist. Stimac's West Ham teammate was hired for a reported sum of $10,000 for the Asian Cup.
"It is still undefined what his role in the Asian Cup was. Of course, it was approved by the Finance Committee," an official added, confirming, though that Sinclair was appointed for no longer than the Asian Cup. "We let him have his way this time because he cribs about everything," was the initial shocking revelation on Stimac's insistence for Sinclair by an AIFF insider. In any case, with the reported $10,000 fee and just three games overseen, Sinclair has surely hit pay dirt.
"We will discuss the Sinclair appointment, along with the coach's report," the AIFF official said. The coaching staff will be in the Capital on Thursday for visa work and a review with the Technical Committee on the Asian Cup fiasco is expected to take place. "We will await Stimac's report. President Kalyan Chaubey will be in the Capital by Thursday, he will be present too."
