Stimac defends rotation policy, points to ‘rich’ resources
Bhubaneswar, June 16
Coach Igor Stimac has insisted that the rotation in the Indian football team’s starting XI in its last two league matches of the Intercontinental Cup was a display of his “rich” resources at his disposal.
After the first match against Mongolia, Stimac made nine changes to the line-up against Vanuatu. As many as 10 changes followed against Lebanon here on Thursday, with Sandesh Jhingan the only player to retain his place in all the three games.
Intercontinental cup
It’s not about experimenting or not finding the right first XI. We are rich with wonderful players, and I need to keep using them. Igor Stimac, India caoch
India will play against Lebanon in the title clash on Sunday.
Summing up the reasoning behind such a heavy rotation, Stimac said: “It’s not about experimenting or not finding the right first XI. We are rich with wonderful players, and I need to keep using them. Today (against Lebanon on Thursday), we looked like an organised, compact and disciplined side with a clear idea of what needs to be done. And that’s richness when you’ve got so many good players to choose from.”
Stimac also showered praise on his rock-solid backline, which has now racked up six straight clean sheets at home. “You can see the discipline in our defending, never mind the opponent. Each one of my players did the job at the back. We knew our defensive abilities would be tested, and that’s what happened, but we did well. Lebanon had only one clear chance. Mongolia and Vanuatu had none and didn’t even come near the goal,” said the Croatian.
The decision to rest Sunil Chhetri meant that Ashique Kuruniyan had to be deployed as striker and he managed to impress Stimac. And so did Udanta Singh, who was shifted to the left wing. “All of my boys can play in every position, whether it’s left wing, right wing, No. 10 or centre forward,” he said.
