AIFF technical panel backs Khalid Jamil for India coach job; Stephen Constantine, Stefan Tarkovic also in three-man shortlist
PANAJI: The technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has recommended Khalid Jamil as its top choice to fill the national coach vacancy, following the resignation of Manolo Marquez.
Should Jamil get the nod from the AIFF's executive committee, he will become the first Indian as full-time coach since Sukhvinder Singh in 2005. Two other Indians – Armando Colaco and Savio Medeira –held interim charges, following the sacking of Bob Houghton in 2011.
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'We had lot of applications, and after careful scrutiny, the technical committee has recommended three names to the executive committee,' AIFF's national team director Subrata Paul told TOI after the technical committee meeting on Wednesday.
'We believe in the potential of these three coaches. They can take our national team forward.'
Poll
Which candidate do you believe has the best chance of improving Indian football?
Khalid Jamil
Stephen Constantine
Stefan Tarkovic
Stephen Constantine, hoping for a third stint with the national team after winning four trophies in the past, is the second name on the list, while former Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan coach Stefan Tarkovic has also been shortlisted.
'All coaches have their own strong points. Khalid has done extremely well in the I-League and
Indian Super League
(ISL).
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Constantine knows Indian football inside out and India played well at the Asian Cup in 2019. Tarkovic has a good national team experience, after stints with Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan,' said another official.
The technical committee has backed Jamil for the top job, given his record in domestic football. Despite limited resources, the former India midfielder won the I-League with Aizawl FC, scripting one of Indian football's most remarkable stories in 2017.
He then caught everyone's attention with semifinal spots in the ISL with NorthEast and Jamshedpur FC, a side he continues to coach.
'The AIFF will now speak with the coaches and look at their (salary) demands. If Khalid agrees to the terms, he will get the India job,' said another official.
Besides the technical committee, Khalid has also got the backing of Dronacharya Award winners, Armando Colaco and Bimal Ghosh, both of whom were consulted as advisors to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey.
According to sources, Constantine too has support within the committee, chaired by former India captain IM Vijayan. India went from 173 to 97 in FIFA rankings between 2015 and 2018 when Constantine was at the helm of affairs. The English coach, who last managed Pakistan, won four trophies with the national team: LG Cup (2002), SAFF Cup (2015), Tri Nation Series (2017) and Inter-Continental Cup (2018).
From the 170 who applied for the national team job, the list was pruned to 20 and presented before the technical committee which met virtually on Wed. National team director Subrata Paul and technical director Syed Sabir Pasha also attended the meeting.
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