Igor Stimac open-minded about friendlies with ISL, I-League clubs

The tactician spoke about the team's preparation ahead of the AFC Asian Cup in an exclusive conversation with Khel Now.

Indian national team head coach Igor Stimac’s future remains unclear. The Croatian head coach’s contract is about to expire in September. With all the ongoing drama regarding the new AIFF draft constitution, there has been no talks over an extension.

While it’s still not guaranteed that his contract will be extended, Stimac definitely did a good job about chances of an extension in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. By helping India top their group and win all three games in the last round, he showed how well the Blue Tigers can play under him. Of course, with the right preparation and training as a team.

More international friendlies needed before Asian Cup

Recently, Igor Stimac sat down with Khel Now in our ‘Beyond the Scores’ podcast for a lengthy chat. The gaffer addressed how many international friendlies India must play before the AFC Asian Cup, stating: “As many as possible, not to hurt anyone. There is no ideal number of days here. Ideal for me would be hurting someone else. There has to be some compromise. We need to keep all the stakeholders happy and need to know how to do that.

“We must sit down every month in a round-table to discuss, because everyone must be well aware that the prosperity of the development of Indian football lies on the national team’s success and nothing else. No one else can bring that. Everyone needs to sacrifice something to make sure that the national team has enough time and exposure to go forward,” he added.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3nrs6eWKqupmGPCmvl455x

The need to host more international games in India

When speaking on the need for India to host more friendly games at home, Igor Stimac explained, “We need to insist on hosting friendly games. There is a massive difference in playing these games at home or away. I will tell you that. Qatar beat Afghanistan in their opening game in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in our group and they beat them by a walking pace by the margin of 6-0, that could’ve been 20-0! Then Qatar goes to Afghanistan at a high temperature, where we went also, playing at an artificial ground and Afghanistan should’ve won that game by a two-goal difference.

"They weren’t lucky enough to win, they just lost 1-0! That is how big difference in football of playing at home and away (is). We didn’t play a single home game in the last two years. Of course, we didn’t have an opportunity because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but I must say that’s not looking for any alibi. We need to be well aware of how big the difference is in playing home and away games.

https://youtu.be/9FBx09KE40A

“Also, believe me when I say that our supporters are one of our biggest strengths. No one will like coming to India and play against us. We need to make sure to bring everyone here. We want to play higher-ranked teams, but we need to pay them to come here. But where’s the money?” he questioned.

Can AFC Asian Cup in summer help India's chances?

The AFC Asian Cup 2023 will take place in the June-July period. This is normally summertime in Asia, sparking claims that it can be an advantage for India. However, Stimac rubbished the claims. He said, “I’m not sure about whether it’ll be an advantage for us, to be honest. It’ll be the same for everyone. I also don’t know what will happen.

“You see in China they had to postpone so that they could get out of the AFC Cup. We must still be aware of the danger which is following us, but also be ready when the time comes. Are we going to get there ready and fully confident of our ability to surprise big teams? Or are we going on holiday? That is dependent on the preparation,” he added.

Plans for future friendly games amid AIFF uncertainty

Upon being asked whether India have any plans to play friendly games before the Asian Cup, the Croatian gave an interesting reply. He quipped,  “At the moment, I have some wishes only. Planning was not possible because of the AIFF’s situation. Obviously, the honorary CoA members are doing everything possible so that the constitution is approved by the Supreme Court and the new President is elected. But that will only happen in September. We have no decisions prior to that. We wanted to organize a camp in Kerala around that time, but as of now, I’m really worried that we won’t have the camp at all. There is nobody to approve the budget.

“I can’t answer to those teams who are willing to come to India and play against us. Most of the teams are engaged already, so it’ll be very difficult for us to find any opponents whatsoever. The best Asian teams have already agreed to schedule their national teams 12 months prior to the games. Those who are in the middle range in terms of positions, from 25–35 in Asia, they are waiting to calculate to see who is in form, and who isn’t so that they can challenge them. They are already engaged with everyone. So what will be left for us there? Playing against Cambodia? If they are available, which will be difficult as no one will wait for us," he asserted.

Igor Stimac further added, “I can’t give any answer on the friendly situation. I tried to push and organize the Hero Intercontinental Cup in September. That is obviously not possible now. I wanted to at least have a two-week camp in September with one friendly game against Kerala (Blasters) and two international friendly matches. Obviously, it won’t be possible to speak about international matches."

Friendlies against ISL sides

"We might find ourselves in a position where we will have to only organize friendly games against ISL clubs. We’ll have Kerala available or I-League clubs. But that’s nothing bad. It’s good for football promotion and for the Kerala fans who have done so many great things to support the national teams.", the tactician mentioned.

Igor Stimac went on to add, “The Manjapadda guys were there wherever we went in the last two years were wearing blue and yellow and supporting the national team with limitless love. Maybe if there is time to go and visit Kerala in September and we can’t organize any international games, we might look to improvise something."

“But after that, in March 2023, there is no improvisation anymore. There have to be strict plans in place with great exposure for the national team, there must be plans on the opponents we must play. If there is a budget, we must organize games with higher-ranked teams and if there is no budget, then you know what happens,” he finished.

Chances of India camp during FIFA World Cup break

Finally, Stimac also addressed queries on whether an Indian national camp can be held in November after the FIFA World Cup starts. He explained, “Right now in the ISL calendar, there is no breaks in November because there are some new competitions which follow the ISL season. I’m glad that players will be involved with more games, but I’m not happy with the way things were prepared. I can see many of the ISL clubs that are participating in the Durand Cup, which is a great competition, but they won’t participate with the senior team because there are not enough training pitches for them to go on with their pre-season training.

“There is no floodlight for the games so they’re supposed to play in 3 PM games. These things need to be sorted prior to going back to these tournaments. Every facility must be provided to all Indian teams so that they can train properly, can execute their pre-season plan and then the national team will also be successful. If everything is planned properly,” he finished.