 "The possibility of Xavi being very costly forced AIFF to cancel his candidature. Image: Reuters")
Barcelona great Xavi was among the applicants for the head coach position of the Indian men’s football team, it has been revealed. However, the name of the former Spanish World Cup winner was not selected by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) technical committee, as it was deemed that his services would be unaffordable.
The AIFF technical committee has shortlisted three coaches from a long list of 170 candidates on Wednesday to replace former Bule Tigers coach Manolo Marquez, who left his job after defeat to Hong Kong in June. The names of Jamshedpur FC coach Khalid Jamil, former India coach Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic, who coached the Slovakia national team in the past, will now be forwarded to the AIFF Executive Committee, which will pick the coach for the Indian men’s football team.
Xavi rejected by AIFF due to high cost
The technical committee did not entertain many prominent names, including that of former Liverpool legends Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell and former Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean, among others. Now, a major revelation has been made that former Barcelona player and coach Xavi had also applied for the job. This was confirmed to The Times of India by AIFF’s national team director Subrata Paul.
“It’s correct that Xavi’s name was there,” Paul told TOI. “The application was emailed to the AIFF.”
As per the report, the AIFF technical committee did not consider Xavi’s name due to the possibility of a high cost that his appointment may lead to.
“Even if Xavi was genuinely interested in Indian football and could be convinced to take up the job, we would need a lot of money,” a member of the technical committee told TOI.
It’s well known that Xavi occasionally follows the Indian Super League (ISL), something that he disclosed a while back in an interview with The Athletic. “I sometimes (follow) the Indian League because many Spanish coaches are there,” he said.
As a player, Xavi won eight La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies. He also won two European Championships with Spain, besides winning the 2010 World Cup.