I give this to the people of Sri Lanka, asserts Amir Alagic

After securing a historic draw against India, Alagic feels Sri Lanka can defeat Maldives.

India’s winless run at the SAFF Championship continued, as Sri Lanka stood tall. The Blue Tigers yet again put up an ordinary performance, this time against the Golden Army. The match ended on level terms with both teams unable to find the back of the net. Igor Stimac’s men find themselves third on the table, with just two points in as many games.

Sri Lanka’s head coach Amir Alagic spoke to the media at the post-match press conference. Here’s what he had to say.

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Improvement in Sri Lankan football

At the beginning of this championship Amir Alagic had said that Sri Lanka are here to learn. He was asked about his thoughts on the improvements that his side have made.

“In football, in my age, you cannot lie, you cannot fake anybody. I said, we came here to learn, honestly, at least not to fake because our players are not having proper leagues, matches and we are always behind. 12-match losing streak is not easy for any national team or any coach. As a person, as a human, as a professional, I cannot go easy with the losses, especially when they're unjustified.

"Let's put our heads together, let's go together. Let's give our kids a chance to go to Europe to play football. So, honestly, I'm very happy with this result. We kept our formation, our shape and our situation under control as much as we could. Our players are required to fatigue. We had only 18 days for preparation.

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"India was better and there’s no question about it. But, when you have such a game with such an organized team as we made them tonight, then there is no one to prove. I give this to the people of Sri Lanka.” he replied.

Approach against Maldives

Sri Lanka will play their final game of the Championship against hosts Maldives. After securing a historic draw against India, Amir Alagic feels Sri Lanka can defeat Maldives.

“Honestly, I see a real possibility to win against Maldives. We have to change something more and more possession. Four players never played in the position that I’m asking them. That's why I started project about Total Football. Total Football means that you play everywhere. I’m teaching the players at least to understand how to go speed in a position that is much easier to play. And was giving them proper food and fitness.

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"And we are not having a fitness coach, we are the only nation who doesn’t have a fitness coach. We are not still structured. We have a momentum. Nothing to lose,” he asserted.

Toughest opponent so far

“Pretty much all nations are same. We are still having some technical problems in understanding of the game. Our players are running more than is necessary for instance. First game (against Bangladesh) honestly was also good until the penalty. But, we prevailed, didn't go down after a red card.

"Against Nepal, we lost because we do not understand positional play. But, you can compensate sometimes in extreme situations. They are running a and fighting. We need more skills, more intelligence and we’ll focus on it. The first game against Bangladesh was pretty much, you know what I look for as a team,” he concluded.

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