I am happy now but we are not going to stop working, admits Igor Stimac

The Croatian tactician is looking forward to improving the team despite winning Hero Intercontinental Cup.

Igor Stimac coached Indian men’s national team became winners of the 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup by defeating Lebanon in the final by a 2-0 scoreline at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri opened the scoring and Lallianzuala Chhangte added the second to give the Blue Tigers a memorable win.

Igor Stimac was happy about the team’s success but remained realistic in his assessment of the win during the press conference. He talked about several important topics, including how the team needs more time to improve further before facing the likes of Australia or Uzbekistan. He also mentioned that the facilities provided in Odisha were top notch among other things.

Here are the excerpts from the conversation between Igor Stimac and the members of the media after India’s historic win at the 2023 Intercontinental Cup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFlHTxVjARc

Analysis of the game

While analysing the game, Igor Stimac talked about the belief in his players and how they pushed to secure the win. He said, “First half of the game we were suffering until we adjusted to the conditions, to our opponents and to keep the legs running. I told you after the second game it was going to be different and it was. I can make such statements because I have the knowledge and we delivered as I said it.”

“So, very happy for the boys, not for myself, it was just another game. I felt sorry for them not winning the first game because they absolutely deserved it. Today we pushed more until we opened them up. As a coach you need to be happy and I am very happy and proud of the boys. All credit goes to them.” he added.

Halftime team talk

There was a visible change in India’s performance from the second half onwards. The head coach definitely had a hand in it and when someone asked Stimac about his team talk during the break, he gave a simple yet direct response. “It is better you don’t know what I said,” Stimac quipped when a journalist asked him about the halftime team talk. “We were terrible from the 10th minute to the 45th minute. That was the worst 35 minutes since I have come here to India. (We played) without control, without the idea, without respecting what we were talking about or showing freshness.”

The impact from the bench

Talking about his tactical changes, Igor Stimac explained that whenever he makes changes, he does so in a way where his team does not lose the energy, the tackles or the height while defending set pieces. “Whoever is coming from the bench needs to make a positive impact on the pitch. That is how coaches are planning for the game. We plan it with 16 players, not 11,” he said in this context.

Unsatisfied

Igor Stimac makes it clear that he is not satisfied and understands that the Blue Tigers can perform way better than the performance against Lebanon. He said, “I know we can do better. As a coach, I cannot show satisfaction. I am happy now but we are not going to stop working, will look to do better and push for more. Lebanon is already behind us, not a better-ranked side, sorry to say that, but we jumped over them a few days ago. There is still a long way to go. When you go out there and face Australia or Uzbekistan, you really need to be ready.”

“We are going to get there. Give me time, I will get you there, don’t give me time, don’t expect anything,” he further added in terms of the progress of the Indian team.

Praiseworthy organisation

Igor Stimac showered praise on the government of Odisha for caring about football and providing state-of-the-art pitches and other facilities during the tournament. He said, “This has been the best place we have been as the national team in regards to facilities provided and the organisational point of view.”