PANAJI : The All India Football Federation ( AIFF ) is yet to formally appoint Igor Stimac as India’s next coach but shots are already being fired by those who were championing the case of Albert Roca .

Roca, a popular man here after his stint with Bengaluru FC that saw the club make it to two finals – AFC Cup and Indian Super League – lost the race on the concluding day with his interview “surprisingly poor”, according to a senior member of the technical committee.

Stimac, the man who steered Croatia to the World Cup 2014 in Brazil, was a “pleasant surprise”, rattling names of Indian players who had impressed him, giving details about some crucial matches in the I-League and ISL, and handing out a list of 36 players who he wanted to have a look ahead of the King’s Cup in Thailand.

The former Croatia manager had the best profile too from among the four shortlisted candidates and, according to most members of the technical committee, a “right signal has been sent to the world with his appointment.”

Some fans though are not convinced, pointing to his less-than-impressive coaching record. In fact, one dossier prepared to back Roca shows Stimac losing three of the last four matches at the World Cup qualifiers during his 468-day reign with Croatia; a club he coached in Qatar finished 12th out of 14 teams and an Iranian club that emerged champions in 2014-15 settled for a place 10 ranks below the next season with Stimac running the show.

“Stimac’s appointment will have the fans divided right at the start but if you look at the two profiles, you can clearly see that he was ahead of Roca by a mile. Stimac coached European powerhouse Croatia and he will be the first World Cupper to coach an Indian team.

“Roca’s achievements with Bengaluru FC are impressive but as coach of El Salvador, he lost 11 of the 20 matches. We must wait for Stimac to prove himself and not start a mutiny,” said one official involved with the selection process.

For the technical committee, Stimac ticked all the boxes. He was willing to join at short notice, salary was within the federation’s budget, was happy to work alongside Indian support staff and said he wouldn’t make a fuss if the grounds here were not up to “European standards.”

“He told us once the appointment is made and the visa is issued, he would take the first available flight to India,” said the official.

The AIFF plans to start the camp for the King’s Cup in Delhi, starting May 22. Then there will be the Inter-Continental Cup in July and the all-important World Cup qualifiers in September.

“With Stimac’s appointment, a message has been sent that we would no longer be happy with just qualifying for the Asian Cup. We want to do well in major tournaments. The new coach won a bronze medal at the World Cup and has succeeded at a very high level. This is good for all of us,” said the official.

Are the partisan fans listening?

