'I didn’t expect': Former Indian football head coach Igor Stimac breaks silence after sacking
AIFF has responded to allegations levelled by Igor Stimac
Igor Simac has opened up for the first time after being sacked as the India men's senior football team head coach. The Croatian gaffer took to his social media handles to post a message, thanking the fans for the bond they had forged in the past five years.
Stimac said an 'environment of hope and belief' was created during his five-year tenure as the head coach of the Blue Tigers.
"To all Indian football fans and my blue tigers. It’s been an honour to serve you over the last 5 years. I didn’t expect to form such a strong bond with this country and be so personally invested when I first joined you all. I’m proud of every player and team member. Together," Stimac's post read.
Stimac also gave a subtle jab to the critics by enlisting the challenges he had to face, ranging from bureaucratic hassles to the pandemic.
"Together we survived the FIFA ban, the administrators running the football house, 2 years of pandemic followed by winning 2 SAFF Championships, Intercontinental Cup and the Tri-Nation Cup, taking India back to the Top 100 after a long time and showing how we can compete against stronger teams," said Stimac.
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At the beginning of the year, Stimac had made the bold claim that he would resign from his position if India failed to advance to the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Despite being in a good position to secure the qualification, India lost the home match against Afghanistan and later succumbed to a controversial ghost goal in the final league match of the campaign against Qatar.
AIFF announces Stimac's sacking
The governing body for football in Indian, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sacked Stimac earlier this week after the FIFA WC Qualifiers debacle.
"Noting the disappointing outcome of the Senior Men's National Team's FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign, the members unanimously agreed that a new Head Coach would be best placed to take the team forward," the AIFF statement read.
On Wednesday (Jun 19), AIFF started the process of finding the next head coach by opening the application process.
(With inputs from agencies)