Had decided to leave India job before my sacking, AIFF is 'full of lies': Igor Stimac
Igor Stimac, who was sacked as India men's football team head coach on Monday, once again hit back at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with a media session on Friday which he described as the "last" instance of him interacting with Indian journalists. Stimac said that he wanted to take the opportunity to explain his side of the story following his removal as India's coach after the national team's exit from the second round of FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
Stimac, who had a contract till 2026, had recently accused AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey of breaching his contract multiple times. During the media session, the 56-year-old football tactician revealed that he had already made up his mind to leave the India job even if the Blue Tigers had qualified for the third of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers because AIFF was "full of lies" and he did not get "proper support".
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"Not surprised about parting ways. Most of my senior players knew I had decided to leave even if we had qualified for the third round. It was impossible for me to go on without proper support, full of lies and people who only had private interests," he said.
Training his guns at Chaubey, Stimac said that the AIFF president needs to vacate his position for the betterment of football in India.
“The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves, the better it will be for Indian football,” Stimac said.
“The president of the AIFF gets pictures clicked with people in important positions just for social media attention. He is now on a spree giving bytes to several influencers.
“Kalyan only cares about being popular - recent media meets shows that. You say he is a politician, no one knows him even in Kolkata. We need someone strong and with backing to lead us.”
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The former Croatian international added that Indian football cannot improve even in the next two decades if things do not change.
"I came with an open heart but I have suffered so much. Your football is imprisoned. I accepted the challenge five years ago but nothing will happen in another two decades. I don't see anything good happening soon," Stimac said.
Igor Stimac sacked
Igor Stimac was sacked as India men's football team coach after a five-year tenure. AIFF image
Focus on national team
He also highlighted that to make the sport of football popular in India, the focus has to be on the national team and not on the clubs.
"No club success of club will help grow football in India, only the success of the Indian football team will help football explode in India. So we need to work towards that."
Stimac also opened up on how the work-related stress led to him having heart surgery. He said AIFF gave him a final warning after he said in the media that World Cup qualifiers were more important than AFC Asian Cup 2023 and the caution had an adverse impact on his health.
"After I told them that the World Cup Qualifiers were more important than the Asian Cup, I received a final warning from AIFF. When I received the final warning on December 2, no one knew this, I ended up landing in the hospital. I was disturbed by everything going on; stressed by the obvious problems. I had an immediate surgery on my heart. I wasn't ready to speak to anyone or find excuses.
"I was ready to put myself on the line to prepare my team for the Asian Cup to give the best shot," Stimac said.
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While AIFF has only offered three months' salary amounting to approximately Rs 75 lakh as compensation to Stimac for ending his contract prematurely, Stimac has threatened to sue the football federation in the FIFA tribunal for full salary till the end of the contract. As per reports, AIFF could be forced to pay him approximately Rs 6 core.
Emotional farewell
During the media interaction, Stimac said that last week he gave AIFF acting secretary general M Satyanarayan the option of waiting for a while as he was already in talks with other parties for a new job, and that way the Indian football federation wouldn't have had to pay the compensation money but they still decided to go ahead and sack him.
“I had informed Satya that I’ve got two offers and I’m talking to deciding my future and by the end of the month, I’ll make a decision. But asked him if he wanted to terminate early then I can but need someone from AIFF who’d take the responsibility with me,” Stimac revealed.
Reflecting on his bond with Indian players and how he said farewell to them, Stimac shared that he sent his farewell message through a WhatsApp group and the responses from the players have made him emotional.
"Since this happened, I just asked to organize a WhatsApp group with all the players and staff members, which has almost 120 people. I sent a farewell message to them appreciating their passion and hard work. Since then the messages I received were heartbreaking. I would like to read it to you but I won't as I will start crying again."