Doru Isac, Gaioz Darsadze among leading contenders for the role of India technical director

Portugal's Jorge Castelo is also being considered for the position, but his interview left much to be desired.

It looks like that the AIFF are coming close to appoint a new technical director, with Romania's Doru Isac being touted as one of the leading contenders for the post. According to The Times of India, the former assistant to Arsene Wenger has grabbed the attention of the technical committee due to his commitment for the vacant position. 

The report stated that the AIFF had invited three shortlisted candidates for an interview in Delhi, on 22nd April. Two candidates preferred to carry out the interview over Skype, while Isac travelled all the way from United States. But he was stopped from leaving the Indira Gandhi International Airport due to visa issues.

Other than serving as an assistant to Wenger, Isac has also former Portugal gaffer Carlos Queiroz, and Serbian coach Bora Milutinovic. Milutinovic is famous for managing five different World Cup teams.

A senior member of the committee told TOI, "Isac came across as someone who is very level-headed and knowledgeable. He has a good profile and it certainly impressed the committee that he was the only one who wanted to make a presentation in person, travelling here from Boston. Unfortunately, there were visa issues. He had applied for a visa on arrival and couldn't get his papers on time due to Easter holiday."

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Portugal's Jorge Castelo is also being considered as one of the favourites for the vacant position. He was a part of Benfica's technical team from 1987-98, but his interview left much to be desired.

According to TOI, the technical committee could also appoint Georgia's Gaioz Darsadze, whose name has been submitted to AIFF.

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Darsadze has already managed the Georgian national team in the past, and was made coaching education director at the Georgian Football Federation. He was also the head coach of Georgia's U-17 team.

According to The Times of India report, the official stated that AIFF needs to discuss the salary and other requirements with the coaches before announcing the appointment.