Igor Stimac, the coach of the men’s football squad for India, questioned whether he was being singled out for criticism for being an “honest fighter” for the good of the nation. Stimac is under fire since there have been rumors that he consulted an astrologer in Delhi before choosing his starting lineup for a crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Afghanistan in June 2022. The Indian coach has opened up about the astrology controversy. Scroll down to read the Indian football coach opens up about astrology controversy.
Indian Football Coach Opens Up About Astrology Controversy
The team led by coach Igor Stimac has gone 13 games without losing at home and has only let up one goal in nine games, including an eight-match stretch of clean sheets and a 4-0 hammering of archrivals Pakistan in front of a full Kanteerava Stadium with the captain scoring a hat-trick.
However, the statistics could be false. It was when India rapidly climbed into the top 100 of the FIFA ranking system for the first time in 23 years in 2017 after defeating a much higher-ranked Puerto Rico, who also fielded a young team, in a friendly match.
The joy of that accomplishment was fleeting, though, as India subsequently dropped out of the top 100 footballing nations. Defeating Thailand 4-1 at the Asian Cup 2019 was a high moment for India, but they left the competition with a sour taste in their mouth due to running out of gas by the last group match.
When the national team re-entered the top 100 rankings earlier this week for the first time in five years, there was a strong sense of accomplishment and loyalty among the supporters who at last felt that the Indian football team has its own identity.
The Croat coach defended himself on social media, saying he was being used as a scapegoat for speaking out and pushing for significant reforms to Indian football. Stimac said on X, previously Twitter, “Target or honest fighter for the advancement of Indian football?”
Stimac continued by saying that the public should decide who was at blame in this situation and that it is now time to figure out who genuinely wants to improve football in the nation.
“I still believe in my dream of making India a football nation.”
An astrologer was brought to Stimac by the then-AIFF secretary Kushal Das, who was under pressure since India was set to play in critical Asian Cup qualifiers against Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong. This information came to light a year ago.
After a year, it was revealed on Tuesday that Stimac had sent the astrologer a list of players before each game, along with details on injuries and possible substitutes.
India won all three games to earn a spot in the AFC Asian Cup, which gets off on January 12 of the following year. India won three competitions this year under Stimac, including a record-extending eighth SAFF Championship victory.
The Indian squad recently placed last out of four teams after losing to Iraq and Lebanon in the King’s Cup in Thailand.
