PANAJI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF), responding Monday to sacked coach Igor Stimac’s recent allegations against it, has brought to the fore the senior team players’ lack of faith in his methods.
According to the AIFF, several players had brought their concern regarding Stimac’s “coaching style and tactics” to the attention of the federation on multiple occasions, before he was eventually sacked last week.
“Despite all the support, the coach always sought to deflect blame and according to him everything and everyone else was wrong and responsible for any given situation, except himself,” the AIFF said. “This sentiment was also shared by various players who had brought their concerns regarding Stimac’s coaching style and tactics to the
attention of the AIFF. His selection of support staff had also gone unquestioned and was the subject of disquiet among many players.”
The AIFF also said they were shocked to note Stimac’s dependence on an astrologer to determine player’s call ups and team selections.
The AIFF said the coach’s conduct left a lot to be desired. The charges include making misleading claims about the GPS vests — lost by the airline in transit during team’s travel — and misrepresenting facts to gain sympathy from other nation’s coaches at the reputational cost of India.
Stimac had claimed at the 3rd AFC National Coaches Conference in Malaysia that he had only four support staff, “when Stimac always had a contingent of between 13 to 16 support staff for every camp and tournament.”
The AIFF claimed that three days prior to the World Cup qualifier against Kuwait in Kolkata, it received a legal notice from Stimac’s lawyer alleging that the AIFF had breached his contract by allegedly misquoting him in a press release made in September 2023, when he had thanked those who made the release of players for the Asian
Games possible.
“It appears that Stimac was more concerned about finding specious reasons to end his coaching stint in a manner favourable to himself rather than focusing on the team’s preparations for perhaps the most important match in the Indian team’s recent history.”
The AIFF also responded to Stimac’s admission that he underwent heart surgery during his engagement with the Indian body.
“He irresponsibly blamed the AIFF for causing his heart ailment, attempting to deflect the serious matter of his not having been medically fit to render coaching services and his failure to formally disclose the same to the federation.s
“It is ironic that someone who was the prime person controlling the fortunes of the national team considers that Indian football is imprisoned and has not grown. It is fashionable to blame the entire system, especially when you do not wish to take any personal responsibility,” said the statement.
