Igor Stimac 'happy' with the quality of Indian football players

The India head coach declares he wants senior players in the team to serve as role models for others.

Published : May 24, 2019 14:02 IST , New Delhi

Igor Stimac addresses the media at a press briefing in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: Twitter (@indianfootball)
Igor Stimac addresses the media at a press briefing in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: Twitter (@indianfootball)
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Igor Stimac addresses the media at a press briefing in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: Twitter (@indianfootball)

Igor Stimac, the new India head coach , is happy with the quality of the elite Indian football players and hopes to "do great things" together.

Stimac declared he has followed Indian football closely in the last year, and that he was ready to hand chances to "five-six" players who hadn't received many chances of playing for the national team.

All you need to know about Igor Stimac

Attending his first press conference since taking charge as India's head coach, Stimac, said, "I watched almost all the matches of the last season and have followed the Indian Arrows as well. I'm informed about 5-6 young players who were not playing so much previously and I'm here to give them a chance."

 

Stimac, who outlined his observations on Indian football and the path ahead, recognised there were many young players "knocking on the door of the senior team."

He said, "There are many young players knocking on the door of the senior team and I see a great chance to keep improving the team and get results. I am happy with the quality I have seen and together, we can do great things."

READ: Igor Stimac's appointment as Indian coach is excellent, says Bora Milutinovic

Stimac stated that he wanted the senior players in the national team to be role models for the others.

He said, "I expect the other senior players to be role models in the team as well. So far, I'm quite happy with the players and their behaviour, and I'm sure we'll all work well together."

Voicing his opinions on the domestic leagues in the country, the breeding ground for national players, Stimac said the I-League had tradition that the ISL did not.

Laid down strategic plan for next four years: Technical director Isac Doru

India must work towards a “synchronised, possession-based philosophy” to perform and progress in international football, the newly-appointed technical director Isac Doru said.

“We have to learn from the past. We have to discuss, find the solution and implement the same as a nation. We have to chalk out our principles and work towards a synchronised, possession-based philosophy. I have already sat with different coaches and now I’ll invite the players who played in the 70s,” Doru added.

“What I feel is that Indians are very agile. What we need to improve is the coaching system and coach education. Say, in one game, there are 128 attacking actions and in another game, there are only 20. Which one will the fan like? India is a fast, dynamic nation and we need to focus on that,” Doru said.

“It’s one of the principles and that’s what we should implement across age-groups, especially, the golden age-group comprising U-8s, U-10s and U-12s.”

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