Not even Guardiola or Mourinho could do more in these circumstances: Stimac

Igor Stimac said he would like to reassemble India probables in August, train them for three months playing two friendlies in each before they return to clubs for the eighth season of the Indian Super League (ISL) that is expected to start in November.

“That way the players will get games right up to February (2022),” he said, at a virtual media conference on Friday. That is when the third round of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, to which Indian have qualified by finishing third behind Qatar and Oman in group E, have been scheduled.

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Stimac’s detailed answers during a 67-minute interaction listed positives since taking over in May 2019 — “of that I was out for 500 days die to the pandemic,” he said — and areas that need improvement. That the national team is not an “academy” but a product of a country’s leagues was a point made more than once. Also mentioned in different answers was the pet peeve of any national team coach: abundance of foreign players.

No relegation in ISL means teams, and by extension, players are not pressured, said Stimac. He also said: “A four-and-a-half month season is not enough for a country to go forward.” And that, “ISL, I-League are not competitions that have the quality of international games.”

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Stimac said players have improved on his watch. Sandesh Jhingan, Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu have got better than they were two-three years ago, he said. “Sandesh needs to work on his passing but as a defender he is one of the best in Asia.”

“And now there are three players in each position. India is not dependent on 13-14 players anymore,” he said.

Because of all that ahead of a meeting with the technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which could decide whether he stays beyond September, Stimac said: “I could be fired but not even (Pep) Guardiola or (Jose) Mourinho could do more in these circumstances.” Under the former Croatia international and their national team manager, India have won two games in two years.

Stimac said players’ fitness improved with fat percentage reducing from an “unacceptable” 12% in 2019 to 7.9% now, “which is how it is in the top level.” But he also said data showed Indians were 7 to 9kg lighter than France or Iran.

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India are transitioning from counter-attack to a team that keeps the ball more. That was part of Stimac’s brief, one that got him to take this job because it is “the greatest challenge in the football world.” “There will be suffering but it is the only way,” he said.

A goal difference of -1 (conceded seven, scored six) — which includes one goal in two games against Qatar in Doha — from one that was -13 (conceded 18, scored five) in the last World Cup qualifying campaign shows that India are compact in defence, he said.

“The middle third has more players who are confident with the ball. It took time for us to find such players because, to be honest, there are not too many. Brandon Fernandes, I have no hesitation in saying, is one of my favourites and we have Sahal (Samad), (Mohammad) Yasir, Liston (Colaco), Apuiah (Lalengmawia). But they have limitations.”

Fernandes contributes in a “static” way, “with superb set-pieces and great passes from one part,” he said. “In terms of defensive work and being an “engine” (playing in a wider area), there is still a lot of work. There are others who have a greater understanding but not enough strength and speed maybe.”

Stimac accepted that India struggled in the final third, “especially against sides that defend with 10.” “We need more quality in passing in the final third, need to shoot more on goal. In ISL, you don’t know how to hurt opposition in final third because foreign players do the assisting and scoring.”

It also didn’t help in Qatar that two of the three teams, ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC, he choose players from (FC Goa being the other) because they had trained and played more, play “counter-attacking football.”

Stimac said ISL could restrict teams from recruiting two foreign players for one position or “two similar strikers.” That way, an Indian player can get game time when a foreigner is changed, he said. And there could be a bar on I-League clubs signing foreign players. That is unlikely till I-League winners get an automatic berth in the AFC Cup where four imports are allowed.

Covid-19 stymied India’s plans for a longer season with 30-40 games including 10-12 internationals, said Stimac. A longer season and more India games are the only ways to improve, he said. That’s stating the obvious but in a country whose football structure is far from perfect, the obvious does need to be stated, repeated even.