AIFF Announces Football Team For Asian Games, Without A Coach

The AIFF has announced team players for Indian Men’s Football Team. There will be no Gurpreet Singh Sandhu or Sandesh Jhingan but Sunil Chhetri as the captain.

Sunil Chhetri will be leading the Indian football team in the Asian Games 2023 in China later this month. However, it’s worth noting that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has not yet announced the coach for the team.

Sunil Chhetri To Lead Indian Team

Sunil Chhetri is going to lead the Indian Men’s Football Team at the Asian Games. Chhetri will be the only senior player in the 17-member squad as many Indian Super League (ISL) clubs have refused to release their key players.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan, who are the other two senior players, won’t be able to make the trip due to their clubs’ refusal to release them outside the FIFA international window and during the ISL.

It’s not surprising that the top clubs didn’t release their key players for the Asian Games. For example, East Bengal refused to allow Mahesh Singh and goalkeeper Prabsukhan Gill to join the squad. Instead, they provided a list of 11 other players who could be considered, but none of them were selected.

There are also several notable absentees from the squad, including Akash Mishra, Vikram Partap Singh, Apuia Ralte, Suresh Singh, Roshan Singh, Siva Sakthi Narayanan, Jeakson Singh, and Ashish Rai.

Bengaluru and FC Goa cited injuries and the importance of certain players as reasons for not releasing them. Mohun Bagan Super Giant also held on to defender Anwar Ali for other engagements.

Liston Colaco was initially given permission to join the team as a replacement for the senior players, but Mohun Bagan revoked permission after Ashique Kuruniyan got injured in Thailand.

India’s group games will be played against China (Sept 19), Bangladesh (Sept 21) and Myanmar (Sept 24) in the Asian Games.

What About The Coach?

There is no official announcement for the coach by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). Igor Stimac has been registered as the coach for the Asian Games, but there is a possibility that he may not take charge due to the unavailability of several players.

In that case, assistant coach Mahesh Gawli will step in as the coach. The AIFF will be holding talks with Stimac on Thursday to discuss the situation.

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What Was The Igor Stimac Astrology Controversy?

Igor Stimac has recently been caught in a recent controversy. It turns out that the AIFF hired an astrologer to provide predictions for the team, and Stimac was in direct contact with the astrologer.

This has led to a lot of criticism of Stimac, with people questioning his professionalism and ability to lead the team.

Stimac has defended himself, saying that he believes in astrology and consulted the astrologer for guidance, but he made his own decisions about team selection. He’s willing to meet with the AIFF to discuss the matter further, but they haven’t responded yet.