The Indian footballing community has been rattled after the news of Igor Stimac being sacked by the All India Football Federation. Let us take a look at the Croatian’s five-year stint with the Indian men’s team.
He remains the most high-profile coach that Indian football has had considering that the man has won a bronze medal in the FIFA World Cup as a player and also managed the national team as well.
READ MORE: AIFF Sack Head Coach Igor Stimac
But now Indian football will have to find someone else to take the mantle and hope that they can carry the mission forward and get the national team to the biggest stages.
Stimac also holds the unique feat of being the first foreign coach having won back-to-back SAFF Championship titles in 2021 and 2023 respectively to extend their record as the most successful side in the tournament. He also led the Indian team to the Intercontinental Cup marking a very successful 2023 having won three titles that year making it their most successful season as a national side.
But the AFC Asian Cup 2023 was a stark contrast to the previous year as they were unable to step up their game and get ahead with the completion as they were winless in the tournament after being beaten by Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria and did not score a single goal.
READ MORE: ‘Step in the Right Direction’: Indian Fans React as AIFF Terminates Contract of Igor Stimac
However, Stimac’s future with the Indian team was in the balance and rested on whether he was able to get India to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers. India only got the win against Kuwait by a solitary goal but remained winless in their remaining games thus resulting in a disappointing end. 53 games were played under Stimac’s tenure of which India won just below half, 19 games while losing 20 and drawing 14.
Now it is up to the AIFF to hire a fresh face and hope that they can get Indian football further forward and keep the World Cup dream alive.
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