A poor AFC Asian Cup campaign has just come to an end, with six goals conceded and none scored. Understandably, social media has gone into meltdown. The usual arguments – a country of 1.3billion and we don’t even have 11 half-decent players – are doing the rounds. Sack Igor Stimac is also trending.
Remove Stimac, for sure. With immediate effect. For the moment you do, Indian football will be back on track. Don’t bother giving the next coach time to prepare the national team for absolutely vital World Cup qualifiers in March and June, and then get rid of him when results don’t match expectations over the next year. Let the musical chairs continue, and let Indian football reach the stars.
Sacking the coach is the easiest thing to do. Blame him, for he is the team’s face. No need to scratch below the surface. No effort to try and understand the deep-rooted problems. All you need is a scapegoat.
For once, it is time to pause. Take a deep dive and point out the real issues. Not that they aren’t known to most. They are, and yet, we don’t wish to confront them. First, India doesn’t have another centre-back as commanding as Sandesh Jhingan. There aren’t enough creative midfielders, who can keep the ball, no centre-forward comes near Sunil Chhetri, who turns 40 this year.
To get rid of Chhetri is also easy. Remove him and Stimac, and all will be well. It’s also the easiest way to get a few thousand social media likes and retweets. Hardly any ISL club has Indian players playing in these pivotal positions. Mediocre foreigners on inflated pay cheques man the defence, central midfield and forward positions for most ISL teams, and the impact is obvious. We don’t even grow Indian players who can play in these key positions for the national team. And yes, when the coach points these things out, he must be blamed. After all, it must be someone’s fault.
Let’s talk about the issue of physicality and fitness. See the pace of the three games India played in Doha, and compare with the pace of any ISL game. Chalk and cheese. Players, when they join the national team from the comfort of ISL clubs, where they are pampered with serious pay cheques, aren’t even ready for the rigours of international football.
Disappointing AFC Asian Cup campaign comes to an end
Here is @BoriaMajumdar with his 3-point analysis@ThumsUpOfficial#asiancup2023 #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/s1iQy21ZF3
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) January 23, 2024
That was painfully apparent in the AFC Champions League, where Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal thumped Mumbai City 6-0. Mumbai, incidentally, had been runaway winners of the League Winners’ Shield in the ISL’s 2022-23 season.
With less than two weeks to train for the Asian Cup in Doha, isn’t it natural that we didn’t get miracles? And yet, Stimac is the culprit and the AIFF must sack him with immediate effect.
Let’s speak about Chhetri. Yes, he tried and failed. So, blame him. He is old and useless. He isn’t the same player. Has lost pace and agility. Tell me one player who will replace him? I was seeing the names of Kiyan Nassiri and others doing the rounds on social media. Kiyan, after that hat-trick against East Bengal, hasn’t done anything to make the first team of his club side. And yet we think he is ready to replace Chhetri in the national team! After scoring one or two good goals in the ISL, we think players can break down reasonably well-drilled international formations. Getting to the moon is perhaps easier.
Also Read: Omar Khribin’s class sends India out of Asian Cup
Who cares for logic? These are all excuses in the aftermath of a limp campaign under a useless coach, who picked the wrong squad and has no tactical nous. Let’s vent for two days, and then go back to watching ISL games in the evenings and be happy with what we see. The coach is a loudmouth because he asked for a four-week camp ahead of a major tournament. A fraud, as many are calling him on social media. Chhetri is past his expiry date. Again, let’s sack both and go back to square one.
For a change, why don’t we make Stimac accountable? Give him the time he wants with the national team, follow the template asked for, and then ask him every tough question when he fails.
To ask to sack him weeks ahead of vital World Cup qualifiers is evidence of how much we know the sport and how little we understand it. Social-media coaches are exactly what they are – people who will queue up in front of Chhetri to pose for a selfie or ask for an autograph at the very first opportunity, and then abuse him or Stimac when the chips are down. To go back to what I started with, let’s sack Sunil both with immediate effect and say: ‘All is Well.’ In 3 Idiots, it can happen. Not in reality.
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