"I didn’t come to India to lick a**es" - Igor Stimac continues to urge clubs for timely release of players ahead of upcoming international tournaments

Indian men's national team head coach Igor Stimac has once again called out for an extended and well-timed preparation camp, urging the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs to release players ahead of the international tournaments. This is in light of the upcoming Asian Games, the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and the AFC Asian Cup.

The Blue Tigers are bracing for a busy schedule in the coming months, which begins with their participation in the King's Cup in Thailand on September 7.

Subsequently, they are set to compete in the Asian Games, scheduled from September 19 to October 7, and the Merdeka Cup in October. The FIFA World Cup qualifiers are set to kick off in November, followed by the AFC Asian Cup in January 2024.

While the King's Cup and Merdeka tournament falls within the FIFA international window, the Asian Games lie outside of it. Three senior players - Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and Sandesh Jhingan - will join the under-23 players for the tournament, and most of these players are a part of the ISL clubs.

Furthermore, the Under-23 squad is gearing up for the Under-23 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers starting on September 6 in China. However, out of the 25 players selected, only 12 have been released by their respective clubs at this point. It is believed that the remaining players will directly join the squad in China.

Stimac's dissatisfaction with this situation is evident, as he firmly believes that India requires more preparation period in order to stand toe-to-toe with the finest teams on the continent.

The Croatian tactician told the Indian Express:

"I didn’t, pardon my language now, come to India to lick a**es. I came to India to help. If you want my help, I need to tell you the truth. You can face it, you can help me to overcome the problems or you can tell me we’re not going to change anything, please coach go home, and I will go home happily and we’re going to stay friends.”

"We have the best brains in the world in India, you’re telling me we cannot manage to adjust the calendar to make sure that the national team has enough time to work? Or are there some other interests? I don’t have a problem with saying that because that’s the truth. Whoever wants to prove me wrong, he can come out publicly with me, debate and tell me what is the main problem?" he added.

Igor Stimac raises concerns about support for the national team

The Asian Games was scheduled to be held last year, but it was postponed to this year due to the pandemic. Despite this, both the Indian men's and women's football teams were initially excluded from participating in the event due to their lower rankings among Asian teams.

Nevertheless, following protests and appeals from fans and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the Sports Ministry eventually reversed its decision, granting permission for the Indian football teams to take part.

As reported by the Indian Express, sources in the Indian Super League (ISL) maintain that Stimac and the team management didn't prioritize the Asian Games while finalizing India's international preparation. In contrast,

Stimac revealed that they weren't aware of the Asian Games situation at the start of the year.

“How can one coach say that’s not important? That would be silly. What I said precisely was that I’m ready to sacrifice the FIFA window in September and October to get four weeks camp prior to the Asian Cup, and two weeks prior to the World Cup qualifiers in November. That’s what I said. At that time, we didn’t know that the Asian Games are coming in September. So that’s a lie," he said.

The Croatian coach additionally raised doubts about India's ambition to cement their name among the elite teams in Asia, particularly if the national team is not adequately supported through preparation camps.

"(I know) players need to be in the clubs, they need to be involved in the club competitions. But when it comes to our primary goals, you see, we want to go top-eight, top-10 in Asia in the next four years. How are we going to get there? If we are now two levels below the countries in the top-8, how are we going to get there without spending time together and working together?" Stimac added.

Stimac has certainly been vocal in calling out the need for preparation time and for the players to be released in a timely manner.

The ongoing questions between club and country will continue, as it remains to be seen whether ISL clubs will release their players beforehand for the Asian Games and the AFC Asian Cup.