'Stimac ouster cry' grows after shock India defeat to Afghanistan

Former India footballers feel there is discord in the changing room and demanded the ouster of head coach Igor Stimac following Indias shocking 12 defeat to Afghanistan in the World Cup qualifiersTalismanic Sunil Chhetri struck in his landmark 150th international fixture but the 117thranked India squandered the onegoal advantage at halftime to let in two secondhalf goals by the world No 158 Afghanistan in their return leg clash in Guwahati on TuesdayFormer India defender Gourmangi Singh feels something is amiss in the Indian dressing room while former forward Dipendu Biswas slammed Stimacs skewed team selection for the disastrous show and demanded his immediate ousterEchoing similar views veteran Subrata Bhattacharya said that foreign coaches never brought laurels to the Indian team and called for an Indian coach to produce players of the calibre of fivesix Sunil ChhetrisRemember that these are the same players who got praise for their historic draw against Qatar in World Cup qualifiers 2022 Gourmangi told PTILast year they achieved greater heights winning three tournaments including the SAFFF Championships For one year they were performing earning everyones praise so suddenly what happened It was the same team same players so what happened suddenly he askedEven though I have been part of the Indian changing room there must be something missing somewhere Were not privy to whats happening there Im unsure about the players relationship with StimacAlso ReadGoalie Chanu is 1st Indian to play in Australian leagueThe All India Football Federation under Kalyan Chaubey has also made headlines for wrong reasons in the recent past since the sacking of its secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran for breach of trust in November last yearThis has coincided with Indias Asian Games fiasco and a disastrous show in the Asian Cup India struggled to make a team for the Hangzhou showpiece and reached just hours before the continental showpieceAnd at the Asian Cup early this year India failed to score a single goal from three outings and extended their goalless run to six successive matches till Chhetri ended the drought in his 150th International appearance on TuesdayGourmangi further urged the stakeholders to get the house in orderI dont want to take names but the AIFFs recent incidents may have had an impact on the field too Its like if the parents are quarrelling then the effect will be seen on the kids You need to get the house in order If the players dont progress and continue playing the same then of course we can point fingers said the FC Goa assistant coachFormer attacking midfielder Biswas who is now the football secretary of Mohammedan Sporting criticised Stimac for the overreliance on ChhetriHe is of the view that not giving opportunities to young talents from tournaments like ILeague Santosh Trophy and Calcutta Premier Division has impeded Indian football as India continue to bank heavily on Chhetri nearly two decades after he made his debutIts a very depressing situation that players who have performed well in Durand Cup Kolkata League or ILeague which has more viewership than the toptier ISL dont catch any attention Biswas saidWe keep saying why we dont have another Chhetri but if we dont give chances to these performing players how will the talents emerge he questionedBiswas cited example of Manipuri forward David Lalhlansanga who has 30plus goals this season for Mohammedan SportingBut nobody knows David thanks to Stimacs flawed selection policies Earlier players were not only picked from National League but Santosh Trophy and Kolkata League also got equal significance Now these players dreams are dashedDemanding immediate ouster of Stimac Biswas said The coach should not be spared after such a show If he takes the credit for the win he should be equally responsible for the defeatThe likes of PK Banerjee Nayeemuddin too were sacked after poor results then why not StimacFormer India defender Subrata Bhattacharya also echoed the same viewsForeign coach never brought any laurels to Indian team Be it Amal Dutta or PK Banerjee its the Indian coach who took India to greater heightsOn the lack of a good striker to replace Chhetri he said We must nurture we must teach and provide opportunities for practice We have to develop him following this path This is the only wayYou cannot win matches with just one Sunil Chhetri You have to bring four or five more Sunil Chhetris On average you must have six good footballers on the pitchHe however hoped that the defeat against Afghanistan was an aberration and India bounce back soonAnything can happen in football Didnt Mohun Bagan or East Bengal ever lose to Kalighat or Rajasthan Upset happens maybe because of miscommunication or by some mistakeThey have failed to utilise their chances and its time to bounce back and they will surely Its okay if they beat us once but by beating them we cannot lift the standard of our football we will bounce back for sure he signed offWith agency inputs