Stimac.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
Igor Stimac came down heavily on the football administrators in the country, calling them “power-hungry people who look after their own personal interests.”
At an online interaction after his contract was terminated by the All India Football Federation following the Indian team’s failure to reach the third round of the World Cup qualifiers, Stimac said that while football is growing across the globe, it is stagnating in India due to the inefficiency of those running the show.
“They don’t have a clue about how to run the football house (AIFF headquarters) and they don’t care. The only thing they care about is power, their own positions and how to put the blame on the others so that they stay as long as possible,” said Stimac. He added that he will seek monetary compensation from the AIFF for the rest of his contract period (till June 2026).
Stimac launched a sharp attack on AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, saying that the sooner he leaves his post, the better it will be for the future of Indian football. “The sooner Kalyan leaves the AIFF, the better it is for Indian football. The only way he knows to run football in the country is through how the social media thinks. It is a totally wrong approach and cannot happen with any serious institution,” Stimac said.
The former coach also revealed that he received little support from the AIFF technical committee, chaired by the legendary I.M. Vijayan.
“Vijayan was a fantastic player but he should not be presiding over the technical committee,” said Stimac.
The Croatian said that since the AIFF officials did not extend any cooperation, the job of coaching the Indian team became so stressful that he had to undergo a heart surgery before the Asian Cup campaign.
