90,000 supporters and our poor away record will be advantage for Malaysia, says Team India coach Igor Stimac

Stimac says he is proud to have Chhetri in team

India will take on hosts Malaysia in the semi-final of the 42nd Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. The Blue Tigers neither have a great record against Malaysia nor in the Merdeka Cup, but will want to change it come Friday.

Ahead of the semi-final clash, India’s head coach Igor Stimac addressed the media and shared his thoughts on a lot of things. 

Preparations ahead of the tournament

The head coach started by sharing his thoughts about his preparations for the tournament. He said that his side will be looking to improve their ‘not so good looking’ record at the championship.

“We are very happy to participate in such a big Asian tournament. We don’t have a good record participating here and we are trying to break that record. Hopefully we are going to have a good game. Malaysia have a new coach and are looking much more organised now,” he asserted.

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Thoughts on Malaysia

Igor Stimac also shared his thoughts on host nation Malaysia and said they are a very stable and organised team.

“In 2023 Malaysia played 9 games and suffered only a defeat against Thailand. You played against two higher ranked teams in China and Syria and played a draw. From what we have analysed, you are a very stable and competitive side with a clear idea of what needs to be done on the pitch. The 90,000 supporters and our poor away record will be an advantage for Malaysia,” he quipped.

Objectives for the tournament

Sharing his thoughts on his side’s objectives coming into the tournament, Stimac said that he does not want to lose any of his players due to an injury because of the important things that are coming up in November.

“First objective is to not get any player injured as important things are coming our way in November. Also we know the importance of the tournament and we will do everything to get to the final and even try and win it. If it doesn’t happen we’ll not get upset, because we have many important things coming our way. 

He also added that India can qualify to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers if things go their favour.

“We are in Pot 2 which gives us a great chance if we are good enough to qualify to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers for the first time in the history of Indian Football. This is the most important thing that we are looking at the moment,” he added.

India’s chances going into the game

Igor Stimac was quizzed about India’s chances coming into the game. He said, “The chances are a bit in favour of Malaysia because of the longer preparatory camp and the home support. You did not lose any home games this year, but we are here to surprise you,”

India’s future

Speaking about Indian Football’s future, the Croatian said that India is currently undertaking several measures to create better developmental programs.

“India is in the process of restructuring the development programs because our pool of players is very small considering the size of the country. We have a long term plan about developmental programs, sizes of competitions with the clubs involved. 

He also said that it is very important to help the new age footballers get immediate success in order to recreate the footballing culture.

“It will take time and we need to find a way to go through this gap of getting the developed generation players to get immediate success to regrowth the footballing culture,” he said.

Team News

Sharing an update on his side, the former World Cup Bronze medalist said that, “A few important players are not available with us here. We have two starting XI players who are not here due to injuries and we have four players who are with us here, but are doubtful for tomorrow’s game,”

Thoughts on Sunil Chhetri

Igor Stimac signed off by sharing his thoughts on Sunil Chhetri. He said that Chhetri is the type of player that every coach wants in his team.

“Sunil Chhetri is our diamond, our skipper and is everything that this team needs to succeed. He still looks like 28. He is the first one to do high press for 120 minutes and support others when things don’t go well. He is a player that every team needs and I’m proud to have him,” he concluded.