Indian football stakeholders need to understand national team is priority, warns coach Igor Stimac

The tactician took to praise the effort put in by the Indian players in recent matches.

India's men’s senior national football team is set to face Lebanon in the final of the 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup. The fixture is to take place at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, on 18 June 2023. Head coach of the Blue Tigers Igor Stimac took part in a press conference ahead of the game to answer some important questions from the media.

Igor Stimac in particular, talked candidly about the approach of the team before the final and gave an account of the difference in intensity between the Indian Super League and international football. He was also expressive about his feelings in regard to the criticism towards Rahim Ali and the injury to Ishan Pandita.

Here are the excerpts from the conversation with the media ahead of the final:

Igor Stimac on approach to the final

India’s clash against Lebanon in the final is going to be exciting. Speaking about the approach and if it will be the same as before or a little bit different, Igor Stimac said, “Same as before. It worked well for us besides not scoring, so I don’t think we should change many things. We need lots of speed, we need players with lots of aggressiveness and energy who are ready to respond to a physical game that Lebanon brings on the pitch.” 

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“We are positive and proud that India is once again in the final and we expect to make the supporters happy and proud of us. We are going to do everything from our side to do so,” Stimac continued in this context.

Finding goals and being careful with injuries

Speaking about what instructions he will be giving to the strikers in order to break the goal-scoring draught, the head coach said, “The instructions are always the same for our players when they are in front of the goal - keep calm, be composed and keep your eye on the ball. Make sure you hit the goal and not miss but it is still not happening.”

“I feel sorry to say that we had trouble with (Ishan) Pandita. We had lots of expectations from him but in the second week of training sessions, he clashed with Sandesh (Jhingan) and pulled his muscle in a way where we did not want to take a risk with him. He could have been a great asset for us here in the sense of scoring or coming onto the pitch in the last 30 minutes or even starting the game in certain situations,” the tactician added, expressing disappointment with Pandita picking up an injury.

He also talked about the ankle injury of Ashique Kuruniyan and tending to him carefully and using him smartly for shorter durations.

Support the young players 

Igor Stimac also talked about Rahim Ali and the unfair criticism he received after missing a golden chance to score against Lebanon in the previous game in the group stage. “If we want our strikers to rise, we need to support them when they are getting a chance,” the tactician said.

Igor Stimac advocated that in order to grow as a footballing nation, the supporters need to be supportive of the younger players instead of accusing or speaking badly about them. 

Happy with the effort

Igor Stimac expressed his contentment with the industry of his team and their attitude while playing for the nation. He said, “I am happy with the work and how the boys behave and improve on the pitch. With the time given to us, we are improving and rising as a team. If we are not given time, we cannot expect the players to just switch on from the ISL phase to the international phase and produce.

"The ISL is not even 50% the intensity of the international level, especially when you are playing against a higher-ranked team. Every stakeholder in Indian football needs to understand that the national team has to be the priority,” he added.