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The Indian football team under the leadership of captain Sunil Chhetri and head coach Igor Stimac is on a journey to defend their SAFF Championship title. Recently, the Blue Tigers defeated Lebanon to win the 2023 Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar and a rematch of the final is on the cards as the two meet again in the 2023 SAFF Championship semi-finals on Saturday (July 1).
Igor Stimac said that against the second half lebanon The final was the best half played by India under his management. Stimac was appointed as the head coach of the Indian football team in May 2019.
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Since then, the Croatian mastermind has helped the Blue Tigers lift several trophies and also led the country to 100th place in the FIFA rankings. Overall, Stimac have so far defeated India in 36 games with a win percentage of 38.9. They have 14 games in which 11 have been drawn and the same number of losses.
Stimac is a Croatian professional football coach and former player of his national team. During his time as a footballer he played for Cadiz and Hajduk Split in Spain. He also played for Derby County and West Ham United in England. (Watch: India coach Igor Stimac sent off after sparring with Pakistani coach and players)
In the latest update, Stimac has been banned for two matches and fined US$500 for a red card offense during the match against Kuwait in the SAFF Championship.
“Indian football coach Igor Stimac has been banned for two matches and fined US$500 for a red card offense during the Kuwait match,” All India Football Federation (AIFF) reported. It was his second red-card offense in the tournament. He had earlier committed a red-card offense in India’s opening campaign against Pakistan.
In a tweet posted a day after the incident, Stimac took to Twitter to explain his side of the story, saying that what he did was for the safety of his teammates. Stimac said he would do it again.
Stimac has in a way warned all the teams and other opponents in the SAFF Championship that they better not indulge in inappropriate behavior on the field.
