AFC Asian Cup: Indian men’s football team coach Igor Stimac (AIFF)
Igor Stimac took jabs at the AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, Technical Committee Head IM Vijayan claiming that their absence would be better for the betterment of Indian football.
After being sacked as the head coach of the Indian men’s football team, Igor Stimac while addressing the media, delivered a scathing attack on the current All India Football Federation (AIFF) President. The Croatian suggested that it would be better that Chaubey leave his post for the betterment of the sport within the country.
Stimac was sacked from his role as the head coach after the Indian team failed to reach the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifier. Following this he also revealed that he would be filing a lawsuit against the AIFF in the FIFA Tribunal if his outstanding dues were not cleared within a stipulated period of 10 days.
The former Indian head coach conducted a press conference on Friday where he opened up on his tenure and blamed Chaubey for most of the side’s problems.
“The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves AIFF, the better it is for Indian football,” Stimac said.
“Football is the most popular sport in the world, but India is the only place where football is not growing,” he added.
READ MORE: AIFF Sack Head Coach Igor Stimac
Stimac was the head coach for five years and his time with the Indian team came to an end following the Blue Tigers’ loss to Qatar in the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers that took place earlier this month.
The Croatian also took jabs against the AIFF Technical Committee Head and Indian football legend who he believes is not the man for the job.
“I M Vijayan was a fantastic player but he is not the person to head the national federation’s technical committee,” he said.
Stimac holds a great reputation as a player and manager and is arguably the most high-profile coach in Indian football to date. He was part of the Croatia national team that took the bronze medal for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and revealed that it was the first time he was sacked in his long career.
“In my career, I’ve not been sacked till now, this was the first time. And it was wrongly so – in my reply to AIFF I’ve done the same.
“I couldn’t continue without enough support, I was fed up with the lies, the unfulfilled promises and being surrounded by people who are only thinking about their interests,” Stimac said from Croatia.
READ MORE: ‘Organize Payment Not Later Than 10 Days’: Igor Stimac Asks AIFF to Settle Dues Following ‘Unilateral Termination’ of Contract
According to the former India head coach, he was handed a final warning before the Asian Cup after he attempted to convince the apex body regarding the importance of the World Cup Qualifiers. This meeting also resulted in him being hospitalised for surgery to undergo a heart condition as well.
“After I told them that the World Cup Qualifiers were more important than the Asian Cup, I received a final warning from AIFF. When I received the final warning on December 2, no one knew that I finished in the hospital”.
“I was disturbed with everything going on; stressed from the obvious problems. I had an immediate surgery on my heart. I wasn’t ready to speak to anyone or find excuses.
“I was ready to put myself on the line to prepare my team for the Asian Cup to give the best shot,” Stimac said.
The AIFF’s hunt for a new coach is ongoing with the board having released advertisements regarding the opening across their social media handles a few days ago.
(with PTI Inputs)
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