SAFF Championship: Igor Stimac must accept the existence of rot after Sri Lanka shock

India men’s football team head coach Igor Stimac has been quite combative in dealing with his critics so far. Just the other day, after India were held to a tame draw by a lower-ranked 10-man Bangladesh, Stimac lashed out at his detractors, accusing them of having an agenda against the Croatian. “From the very first day since I arrived in India, they (the critics) started organising themselves for reasons only known to them. Even the good work that we do, they find it not good enough. But we shouldn’t care. Social media will never decide who will play in the Indian team, and I hope it will never decide who shall be the coach and who will be sacked," Stimac had said. Back in June, when a listless India huffed and puffed to victory over Bangladesh in the second round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, Stimac had reportedly said that: “Those who criticise our game don’t understand football.” On Thursday, World No 107 India were held to another shambolic draw in the SAFF Championship, this time by 205th ranked Sri Lanka. Stimac’s excuse for the result was lack of goals, everything else he believes is hunky-dory. “After the first two games, the only thing missing is goals. We were much better team than Bangladesh. Even today, it was only one team on the pitch, India. So, we are dominating these games. we controlled both of our matches,” the coach said. But everyone apart from Stimac could see that nothing is hunky-dory. Under the former West Ham United player, India have just two wins from eight matches against their regional laggards — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. In all 19 matches under the Croatian, India have just three wins to show. Forget the results, India have had a new starting XI in all of these 19 matches. Stimac has given debuts to 21 players since taking over as the coach. He doesn’t have a list of first-choice players even after spending over two years in his role. Very early in his tenure, Stimac had announced that he was brought in to change India’s playing style. His focus was on building an attacking unit as compared to the defensive team that his predecessor Stephen Constantine had left behind. After 19 games, it can be said with confidence that Stimac is not doing well on this front. The lack of pattern in India’s play in these 19 matches has been an unsettling shock. Instability in the team, lack of identity, lack of results — the problems plaguing the national team are aplenty. And now with every new game, the dipping work rate of Indian players has added to the misery. Against Sri Lanka, which is almost 100 spots behind India in the FIFA rankings, the Blue Tigers failed to stitch a single attacking move from the midfield that is worth revisiting. The lack of intensity from the Indian players against a team that opted for the low block was baffling and it even prompted commentators to mention on-air numerous times that it was the “most slow-paced” match of the tournament so far. Sri Lanka sitting deep, defending in numbers, crowding the midfield was no surprise. Against their stronger neighbours, that has been Sri Lanka’s preferred template. But India appeared completely unprepared for the expected challenge. They lacked rhythm and looked devoid of ideas. The lack of pace in India’s passing, attacking moves despite the nonexistence of pressing allowed Lankans to easily thwart the challenges that their opponents posed. The lack of imagination and creativity from the centre of the pitch forced the Indian players to take the ball to the wide areas almost on every attack but the lack of physical presence upfront rendered the crosses ineffective. The lack of ideas and creativity in India’s play raises questions over Stimac’s coaching. India’s struggle in the two matches of the Championship points towards a lack of planning, where what questions will be posed is well known but everyone from the Indian camp seems clueless about the answers. The constant dip in the work rate of Indian players as Stimac’s tenure progresses is also a major concern. The lack of intensity on the pitch was the biggest reason why India could never take control of the games against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh despite the South Asian giants bossing the possession stats. Stimac has often sighted the wide gap between domestic and international football as the reason behind the Indian team’s failure under his watch. But the same can’t be applied when you are playing against teams who are almost 100 spots behind you in the FIFA rankings. Maybe it’s time to stop dismissing the criticism, and instead, try to come to terms with them. Indian football ecosystem has never been perfect, and it will not be in many coming decades also, but a problem can only be solved if we accept its existence. Stimac also needs to accept that a lot is wrong with the Indian team currently, and he is currently failing in getting the best out of his players. If he doesn’t, India could end up paying a heavy price in the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers.