Igor Stimac opens up on Sunil Chhetri, Modric's knowledge of India, FIFA World Cup & more

Igor Stimac has overseen a revolution in Indian football. The Croatian manager took charge in 2019 and the Blue Tigers have witnessed a steady graph since then. Back-to-back titles in Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship provided a massive boost for Sunil Chhetri and Co. Ahead of the AFC Asian Cup, the Indian Football team will seek to get back their rhythm as this tournament will play a major role in shaping their future.

Igor Stimac played a major role in reviving the fortunes of the Indian team. Stimac extended his stay till the AFC Asian Cup and it remains to be seen how his future unfolds. In an exclusive interview with republicworld.com, Indian national team coach Igor Stimac opened up on a number of aspects including the Indian Super League, Chhetri, Luka Modric, and more. Excerpts:-

1. How many years do you think India will need to come into the top fifties?

That depends on how much our stakeholders are ready to invest and sacrifice for such a goal. Let’s do some maths then. If we start investing at least 50% of what leading Asian football countries but providing our national team requested time for work we can get there in 6-8 years. There is a much quicker solution also: if we change the PIO rule and allow players of Indian origin to represent India we could get there in 3-4 years.                                                                          

2. Any players from the U17 side you think can make it to the top level?

Our last U17 generation which participated at the WC 2017 gave us tremendous strength and energy in today’s Senior National Team. I hope that the new generation will be at least similar to them but there is lots of hard work in front of them to reach that goal.

Also Read: This team fights, no matter where and against which team: Sunil Chhetri

3. Do you think there should be a perfect blend between I-league and ISL when it comes to the Indian football team?                                                 

The national team requires players with perfect technical skills, great speed, stamina, and personality. So all the leagues should be structured in a very competitive way to produce such players for the country.

4. Who could be the replacement for Sunil Chhetri?  

Again that question?? Why should we think about that while he is playing the best football of his life? Other boys are rising up in the meantime and will see when the time comes how to handle that problem.                                                                    

5. You recently met Luka Modric in Croatia. Is he aware of the work you’re doing with the Indian Football team?

Of course, he is aware and happy about the changes we are bringing to awaken football in India.

6. Since you took over what has changed in Indian football and what needs to be changed

We reconstructed the National team bringing in youngsters with more technical skills and stamina and we are capable of producing more attacking football now. We reduced foreign players involvement in all leagues but I was not happy that it took us too long to do so. We started baby leagues and grassroots programs which were obviously hurt by the pandemic situation but coming back to it’s progress. The leagues are slowly getting better and in 4-5 years we should have more competitive leagues ISL / I-Leagues with more clubs involved in the competition. 

Also Read: Sunil Chhetri acknowledges Kanteerava crowd with kind words after India's SAFF Cup sweep

Now work needs to be done on minimising foreign players' involvement in the main and most attractive positions if we want Indian players to start growing their game. 

Each professional club needs to have all under-age groups competing and we need to make sure that football infrastructure reaches all corners of the country. The main competitions should be carefully planned between stakeholders to make sure that the needed time for the National camps is long enough for good preparation. And finally, the broadcast of the national games needs to be organised in a professional way to make sure our followers and fans can enjoy the games.

7. Why Indian players are not getting enough chances to play in European leagues

Because they are still far away from that football level. We have some European leagues with lower levels of football where our boys could compete but salaries in such leagues are 10 times lesser than in ISL so what could be a good reason for our boys to go there and challenge themselves?

8.  How big of a role Sunil Chhetri would play in the upcoming Asian Cup?

Still far away from January 2024. But knowing our captain, he will do everything to make sure of having the best tournament of his life!!