ISL just comfort football: Igor Stimac | Football News – Times of India

India’s top league is of a modest standard, feels the national coach
KOLKATA: National coach Igor Stimac is not too convinced that India’s top most football tournament – the Indian Super League, is helping in the growth of the game in the country as much as it should.
“ISL is just comfort football in its present form,” the coach said during an interaction here on Tuesday. “It gives good salary to the players and they are in a comfortable space. In the ISL, when a player receives a pass, he has enough time to think about his next move. But in international football, you don’t get that time. You have to make an instant decision and move on.”
The Croatian legend clearly feels India’s top league is really of a modest standard. He has his reasons for it. “When I was coming g to India as the coach, many people told me I was lucky as I have 1.25 billion options to choose from. But when I came here, I realised I have 10 teams to choose from and a pool of 50 odd Indian players, who are mostly goalkeepers, defenders or defensive midfielders.”
The key positions in almost all ISL teams are taken by foreigners “who had nowhere else to go and who are here for the salary.” Although Stimac does not want to lecture the ISL coaches, but added that if he was one, he would be working hard with the Indian players.
“As a national coach, I don’t have a ready pool of players,” he said. “I have to pick players from these ISL teams and I have to take what is offered to me.” Gokulam Kerala’s I-League success is great for the club, but Stimac does not feel India’s second league has enough talent to replace the players in the national side.
“I know every I-League coach feels his team has 2-3 players who can be in the national side, and I wish that was true. But let’s be realistic. Gokulam’s win against ATK Mohun Bagan was great, but if you asked me, they will win one out of 10 of such games and that was the one.”
Stimac accepted the India assignment for the challenges that the country can throw up. “Expectations are very high, but options are limited, so is the base. It’s a challenge I would like to take up,” he said. He has already identified a pool of youngsters for the future, but is wary they might fall into the ‘ISL trap’ of high salary and comfort. “Some players from the Indian Arrows and U-17 project are very talented and have huge potential. But then, if they get used to high salary and the comfort that comes with it, half of them might disappear.”
The coach feels just one good result can turn it all around for India. With the Asian Cup qualifiers taking place here later this month, he is optimistic India will qualify for the main event. And that one good result might just be round the corner.