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Time of India
6 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Youngsters should not jump into ISL, game time more important: Naushad Moosa
Naushad Moosa is coaching the India under-23 team Panaji: Naushad Moosa has returned as head coach of the India under-23 squad. This time, he has been handed a longer rope, stretching a year, and tasked with preparing the team for next year's Asian Games and the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, qualifiers for which will be held in September. Last year, Moosa, assistant to Juan Pedro at NorthEast United, was in charge of the under-23 team for two friendlies against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. 'The longer contract helps me understand the players better,' Moosa told TOI in a recent interview. 'I spoke with the AIFF and told them it's important to have longer camps as well, so that we can properly assess the players and opponents. I want to bring the best out of these players. Getting them to gel together, though, will be a challenge.' Moosa, a former international who played for India between 1994 and 1998 and won the SAFF Championship in 1997, has named a 29-member probable squad for the two friendlies in Dushanbe against Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic, later this month. A concern for Moosa is that a majority of players are with ISL clubs. Many of them are without enough playing time in the top tier of Indian football. 'The younger under-19 players, all of them want to play for ISL clubs. My advice is don't jump (straightway) into the ISL. Of course, you should try, but only a few make it to the top. The youngsters can sign for clubs where they get to play. At this age, it's important for them to be playing competitive matches. Sitting on the bench for financially-rich clubs doesn't really help in their growth as players,' said Moosa. 'The younger players in the ISL are not getting enough opportunities. There are a lot of promising players in the I-League who we will track,' added Moosa. From amongst the 29 probables, only a handful have featured regularly for their teams in the ISL. Just one among them, Vibin Mohanan, has a senior team appearance, though Ayush Chhetri, Abhishek Singh and Suhail Bhat, all aged below 23, are currently under Manolo Marquez with the national team. Mohammed Sanan, Nikhil Barla (both Jamshedpur), Korou Singh, Bikash Yumnam (both Kerala Blasters), Macarton Louis Nickson, Parthib Gogoi (both NorthEast United) and Dipendu Biswas (Mohun Bagan) are the more recognisable names among the under-23 probables. Only two players -- Rahul Raju (Gokulam Kerala) and Mohammad Arbaz (Real Kashmir) – are doing duty in the I-League, the second tier tournament. 'We need to have more camps, more exposure matches. If we cannot travel abroad, we can play here, but with stronger opponents. Losing is not a problem. It's important we play stronger opponents to prepare for the challenges. Our aim should not be to win SAFF. We must look at the bigger stage where we will be properly judged,' said Moosa. India U-23 will face Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic in two friendlies on June 18 and June 21 as part of the AIFF's long-term plans to smoothen a pathway to the senior national team. The team is in Kolkata where they will train before setting off for Dushanbe on June 16.
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First Post
6 days ago
- Business
- First Post
Infighting between national coaches and AIFF: the root of Indian football team's woes?
India had three back-to-back international triumphs in 2023. Who could anticipate then that a blind alley was waiting for Indian football just round the corner? read more July 20, 2023, was a red-letter day in the recent history of Indian football. As FIFA released its new men's rankings, . A 64-month wait had ended. India broke into the top hundred. Finally. It was the celebration time for Indian football, whose sky looked azure, the grass looked emerald green. The long-cherished ascending dream in international football has begun with three back-to-back triumphs in the three-nation tournament in Imphal, the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, and the SAFF Championship title in Bengaluru. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Who could anticipate then that a blind alley was waiting for Indian football just round the corner? As India take on Thailand in an International Friendly on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, they stand at the 127th position in the FIFA rankings. Ironic as it may sound, Thailand, who were 113th on July 20, 2023, currently occupies the 99th place. More from Football What exactly went wrong? Why did a team that bagged three titles between March and September 2023 against decent rivals and earned a memorable draw against mighty Iraq in the King's Cup, losing only on penalties, suffer such a slump? Is it fait accompli, as they normally say? The answer is: Certainly not. To put it plainly, more than the players and the coaches, it is the sheer mismanagement of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), headed by its President, Kalyan Chaubey, that has led to this situation. The AIFF has not only failed to capitalise on the upward graph, but has also downgraded the entire effort with poor planning, inability to strike a balance between the clubs and the National Team, improper handling of players, and by creating a cantankerous relationship with the National coaches. Unfortunately, the seed of the downfall was sown in July 2023 when India broke into the top hundred. The participation of the National Team in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, became the bone of contention. Former Indian football team coach Igor Stimac. Image: Reuters The ultimate fallout and bitter difference between the head of the AIFF and National Coach Igor Stimac began at this juncture, which finally culminated in the termination of the Croatian coach's contract in June 2024. Stimac was at no fault when he suggested well in advance that, since football in the Asian Games was an Under-23 tournament, he should take a team of U23 players to the King's Cup in Thailand in September (7-10) and the same squad to Hangzhou later in the month. After due consultations with the ISL clubs, Stimac also submitted a list of players to be registered for the Asian Games. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD AIFF didn't heed the advice and decided to send senior players to Thailand. It didn't stop there. The AIFF President promised the Sports Ministry that senior players like Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu would travel to the Asian Games without even bothering to inform the National coach. The mess that was created during the Asian Games would go down as one of the darkest chapters in Indian football history. The AIFF had to change the squad three times after clubs refused to release players, the visas were not ready, and a terrible travel plan left the players fatigued, as they had to sleep in the airport lounge. India didn't have enough bench strength in the first match, as at least two players were yet to reach. The fallout began from here. A furious Stimac started speaking his mind, which made the widening difference between the coach and the federation a matter of public knowledge. Twice, Stimac was served with show-cause notices, which further complicated the issue. By the time India travelled for the Asian Cup in January 2024, the very fabric of the National Team was already in tatters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The rot had set in by then. India could not win a single official match after the away win over Kuwait in the World Cup qualifiers in November 2023. Almost the same set of players, who looked like the next-gen lot in 2023, were reduced to a rudderless bunch a year later. The situation worsened with the AIFF making no effort to arrest the decline. They were busy showing the door to Stimac, who levelled some damning allegations against Chaubey. No rule was followed to terminate Stimac, who, in retaliation, threatened to go to FIFA and walked away with compensation that left the AIFF poorer by . Once the Stimac era was over, things were expected to settle down in the Marquez Manolo era. It hardly happened that way as India continued to struggle in the international arena. Rumours are now rife that the Spanish coach and may say goodbye to the coveted post after the Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong on June 10. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Manolo Marquez is reportedly set to leave the Indian football team's coach in June 2025. Image: AIFF While Manolo hasn't uttered a word publicly, there is something seriously wrong with the setup that could force the second National coach in a short time to leave. The AIFF hasn't come up with any fresh plan, not even a Technical Committee meeting was convened after the disappointing draw against Bangladesh in March. With the Supreme Court expected to announce its verdict on the new AIFF constitution sometime in July, which may result in mid-term elections of the body, it won't be a surprise if Sunil Chhetri and his boys are left to fend for its own for the Asian Cup qualifiers. Fait accompli? Yes, now, it would be the apt description of the situation. One of the most renowned football journalists in India, Jaydeep Basu worked for 37 year career as a sports reporter in renowned publications. He was Director of Communication and Media at AIFF from July 2022 to March 2025. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Allow young footballers to make mistakes and play with freedom, says India's U-19 team coach Bibiano Fernandes
Bibiano Fernandes, the highly rated head coach of India's U-19 football team, which won the SAFF Championship a few days ago, has said the team surpassed his expectations with the quality of play exhibited. The new crop of talent should continue to work hard and persevere to ensure future success and not rest on current laurels, the 48-year-old coach said in an interview, while also explaining his coaching philosophy. Excerpts: We have scouts all over the country watching the various competitions and giving me feedback. They send me videos and reports from time to time. The Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) was one competition that gave us a lot of inputs about the boys. In this way, we were able to get information of the available talent across the country and once we identified them it was a matter of getting them to play within a particular philosophy. They speak different languages but football speaks a global language. Yes. We had some very good preparation in the lead up to the SAFF Championships with matches against some of the Santhosh Trophy state sides and had a good idea of the level they could reach. Yet, the boys surprised me. They were able to take their game up to a higher standard in the competition. I gave them all the freedom to express themselves and they did. The crowd support in Arunachal Pradesh also played a big role. I tend to agree. In Europe, the kids play a vastly higher number of competitive matches than here. They play a series of tournaments throughout the season and hence their game awareness is superior. In India we have to ensure that we have many more tournaments and competitions in schools and at the academy level. I do believe playing matches/tournaments regularly help you to improve substantially. Also, let's have under-13/14/15/16/17 tournaments (in every age group) instead of the current systems of having u-13, u-15, u-17 ones. This way we can develop talent better. I would like to approach that question from a broader perspective. In my team, the goals from all parts of the field – be it wingers, attacking midfielders or from the defensive midfielder too. Danny Meitei, who is my attacking midfielder and playmaker, scored the most number of goals for us. I gave him all the freedom to go up and score. I encourage that kind of play so that I don't have to just depend on the striker for the goals. In the senior Indian squad, we have Manvir, Chhangte and of course Chhetri. All the offensive-minded players should be able to score goals, and not just the no.9. Continue to work hard and persevere. Patience is very important. Wait for your chance, and the opportunities will arrive as long as you are working hard. During training sessions, it's easy to see who's giving 100% and who's not. You cannot give 99% and expect a call-up. Work hard every day and be patient. My training regimen is match-related. We train for only match-related situations. Everything is primed toward that. It's about the ball, opponent and the goal. In a way, it's about understanding football. The players have to be aware of their roles and responsibilities. Please allow them to make mistakes. That's how they grow. Some coaches don't allow players to play freely. I want players to express their skills and not hide them. As long as there's a positive team-related intent from the player, I don't have any problems in players making errors while trying to express themselves. As a coach I'm ready to unlearn, so that I can absorb new things. Above all, keep things as simple as possible. Okay. Let me elaborate. Do you get fit and play football or do you play football and get fit? To me, the best way to get fit is by playing football. Similarly, do you train one aspect the whole day or do you mix it up? I don't train one aspect the whole day. For example, I don't do transition training the entire day. I try many elements in a day, so that we can simulate match situations. In the north-east, the boys get to play regularly in tournaments. There are many competitions and the passion for the game is high. It will be great if all states start doing that so that we can produce more talent. I'm sure the states that you mentioned have their own plans.
The Hindu
24-04-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
SAFF Championship 2025 postponed to 2026; venue, dates yet to be decided
The 2025 edition of the SAFF Championship has been postponed to 2026, the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) announced on Thursday. '... SAFF, our Member Associations and SportFive felt that more arrangement needed to be in place to deliver the competition in a smooth manner,' the body said in a media release. 'Therefore, we have come to a decision to postpone the SAFF Championship to 2026 so that all our stakeholders and member associations have adequate time to organise the championship in a grand manner.' The SAFF Championship, which was previously hoisted in India in 2023, was expected to be played in a home-and-away format. However, it was later decided to be organised with Sri Lanka as the centralised venue, something that remains cancelled now. ALSO READ: Mohun Bagan Super Giant's 2025 Kalinga Super Cup squad announced It will instead happen next year, and the dates and venue for the tournament are yet to be finalised. 'With 2026 being a FIFA World Cup year, enough attention has to be given to find an appropriate timeline and venue for the SAFF Championship,' SAFF added in its statement. 'We urge all our stakeholders, fans, media and the member associations to bear with us so that the prestigious event will be organised flawlessly.' India is the record winner of the SAFF Championship (nine titles) and is also the defending champion, with Sunil Chhetri winning the Golden Ball (best player) and Golden Boot (highest goalscorer) in 2023.
