Colaco game for beating UAE in World Cup qualifiers
New Delhi: India's interim football coach Armando Colaco has a tough task at hand as the national team faces the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first round of World Cup qualifiers in July.
He says it will be a challenge to get past the UAE, whose only World Cup appearance was way back in 1990 in the US. India, however, did beat the UAE 1-0 at Bangalore in 2001 for the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign under Sukhwinder Singh.
"It will be a tough game for the team. Don't expect miracles from me overnight. We need time to build the team," Colaco told IANS from Goa.
During his tenure as the Dempo coach, Colaco has been highly successful leading the Goan club to four I-League titles and also to the semifinal of the AFC Cup, the second-tier club competition in Asia.
Colaco, who played for both Salgaocar and Dempo, wants to mould the national team in Dempo's style of play.
"The national team has been playing too many long balls. But I don't see them having much success as Indian players are not good in the air. We have to play the passing game if we want to taste success," said Colaco.
Asked if he would change India's 4-4-2 formation, which was adopted by Bob Houghton, Colaco said: "I have to sit down with the team and analyse the strength and weaknesses and then we have to formulate a strategy."
Colaco added that there will be some new faces in the team.
"I will be trying out some new boys. We have some international friendlies ahead of the World Cup qualifier and that will help us to prepare well," he said.
Under him, India will face Pakistan in a three-match series next month in England and then will play two away international friendlies against the Maldives (July 10) and Qatar (July 17). The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is also trying to organise two more international friendlies in-between at home.
The first leg in the UAE is slated for July 23 while India will host the return-leg at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium July 28.
New Delhi: Newly-appointed national coach Armando Colaco has vowed to induct more youngsters in the team for the World Cup qualifiers against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July.
The new coach, who has been appointed for four months, is yet to submit his list of probables to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), but dropped enough hint that there would be no place for some regulars like Bhaichung Bhutia, Abhishek Yadav, N.S.Manju, Anwar or Surkumar Singh in his scheme of things.
Asked whether he would continue with Bhutia, Colaco told The Telegraph: “Bhutia is a great footballer. His contribution to Indian football cannot be questioned. But, I am extremely happy with the way Jeje (Lalpekhlua) and Sunil Chetri played in the AFC Challengers Cup qualifiers in Malaysia recently. I see no reason why the combination should be disturbed.”
Colaco, however, said he was not in favour of making wholesome changes in the current team.
“There are some players like Syed Rahim Nabi, Steven Dias, Climax Lawrence or Subroto Paul, who have been doing well for the past few years and are good enough to continue. They will definitely be considered while finalising the squad,” said the coach.
Colaco wondered how a defender like Debabrata Roy could be kept out of the national team for such a long time. “... Debu is one of the best defenders in the country. The Indian Olympic team captain Raju Gaekwad should also be there in defence.”
Players like Naoba Singh, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Anil Kumar, Peter Carvalho, Jewel Raja and Mehtab Hussain are also likely to be called up for the national camp. The coach said he hoped to call up around 35 players for the first camp.
“I had a long discussion with the AIFF general secretary Kushal Das,” said Colaco.
On Friday, the AIFF decided to stick to the rules of allowing four foreigners to play for each side in the I-League.
It has also asked footballer N.P. Pradeep to put up an advertisement in a national level daily newspaper saying he did not use abusive language against AIFF officials on a social networking website.
Climax is a gem. He shud b in d wing or atakin mf. Seems like armando has listened to us fans. I m waitin for d probable list. Bob's era is ovr whr he kpt rubish set of playrs
Seniors have to prove themselves: Interim India coach
‘Unfit’ senior players who have ‘taken their place for granted’ will have to prove themselves to remain in the side, interim football team coach Armando Colaco said. If the 58-year-old, who is currently the coach of I-League champions Dempo, does manage to get things done his way, then his four-month stay promises to be a rather controversial one. And he realises that.
“I know there will be a lot of criticism for a few decisions that I will take. But these decisions need to be taken keeping in mind the long-term interest,” Colaco told DNA, hinting that skipper Baichung Bhutia may not fit in his plans and may be out of the squad for 2014 World Cup qualifier against UAE in July.
Colaco said he has already taken All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) permission to include at least six Dempo players in the squad, so that the rest of the players understand the style of play that will be adopted in the future.“We will play four-vs-two’s, five-vs-two’s in training so that the passing becomes better. In a match, you look up, control the ball and make a pass — all in one flow. In case there is a scoring opportunity up front, then play the long ball. More you have the ball, more are the chances of you scoring.
“All this sounds simple. At Dempo, we have practiced this style for many years before we started getting rewards. Same will be the case with India. We can’t expect anything in four months or one year,” he explained. One change that he does expect to bring is in the squad. Colaco is of the opinion that youngsters doing well in the I-League need to be given an opportunity to play for India.
“For that to happen, many senior players, who have taken their place for granted will be left out. I have the players I want in the squad in my mind and I will discuss it with the rest of coaching staff before making an announcement. Many egos will be hurt and there will be a lot hue and cry, I guess but I cannot help it,” he said, adding that youngsters like Anil Kumar (playing for Viva Kerala) and Raju Gaikwad (Indian Arrows) should be given an opportunity.
A Herculean task awaits Colaco, though. “UAE is a strong contender to qualify. Did we expect India to beat Australia, South Korea or Bahrain in the Asian Cup? Same will be the case now. Moreover, there won’t be enough time for preparation.
“The I-League ends on June 1 and the camp will begin 10-15 days after that. And within a month, we will have our match. So it will be a quite exhausting for everyone. Having said that, miracles do happen and we can pull of an upset win,” he said.
colaco is on his way to select a team with some new bloods and old guns....probably can turn out to be controversial...i can see at least one post of colaco in dna mumbai regarding his team selection and all stuffs...lets hope all goes well and he do select the team which is worth a win against the teams we gonna face(uae).
Comments
frnds don't forget to spread this news ( India vs UAE).. for wcq, damm sure with proper adv's , we can see more than 20k +
New Delhi: India's interim football coach Armando Colaco has a tough task at hand as the national team faces the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first round of World Cup qualifiers in July.
He says it will be a challenge to get past the UAE, whose only World Cup appearance was way back in 1990 in the US. India, however, did beat the UAE 1-0 at Bangalore in 2001 for the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign under Sukhwinder Singh.
"It will be a tough game for the team. Don't expect miracles from me overnight. We need time to build the team," Colaco told IANS from Goa.
During his tenure as the Dempo coach, Colaco has been highly successful leading the Goan club to four I-League titles and also to the semifinal of the AFC Cup, the second-tier club competition in Asia.
Colaco, who played for both Salgaocar and Dempo, wants to mould the national team in Dempo's style of play.
"The national team has been playing too many long balls. But I don't see them having much success as Indian players are not good in the air. We have to play the passing game if we want to taste success," said Colaco.
Asked if he would change India's 4-4-2 formation, which was adopted by Bob Houghton, Colaco said: "I have to sit down with the team and analyse the strength and weaknesses and then we have to formulate a strategy."
Colaco added that there will be some new faces in the team.
"I will be trying out some new boys. We have some international friendlies ahead of the World Cup qualifier and that will help us to prepare well," he said.
Under him, India will face Pakistan in a three-match series next month in England and then will play two away international friendlies against the Maldives (July 10) and Qatar (July 17). The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is also trying to organise two more international friendlies in-between at home.
The first leg in the UAE is slated for July 23 while India will host the return-leg at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium July 28.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://sports.ndtv.com/football/news/item/173756-colaco-game-for-beating-uae-in-world-cup-qualifiers">http://sports.ndtv.com/football/news/it ... qualifiers</a><!-- m -->
New Delhi: Newly-appointed national coach Armando Colaco has vowed to induct more youngsters in the team for the World Cup qualifiers against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July.
The new coach, who has been appointed for four months, is yet to submit his list of probables to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), but dropped enough hint that there would be no place for some regulars like Bhaichung Bhutia, Abhishek Yadav, N.S.Manju, Anwar or Surkumar Singh in his scheme of things.
Asked whether he would continue with Bhutia, Colaco told The Telegraph: “Bhutia is a great footballer. His contribution to Indian football cannot be questioned. But, I am extremely happy with the way Jeje (Lalpekhlua) and Sunil Chetri played in the AFC Challengers Cup qualifiers in Malaysia recently. I see no reason why the combination should be disturbed.”
Colaco, however, said he was not in favour of making wholesome changes in the current team.
“There are some players like Syed Rahim Nabi, Steven Dias, Climax Lawrence or Subroto Paul, who have been doing well for the past few years and are good enough to continue. They will definitely be considered while finalising the squad,” said the coach.
Colaco wondered how a defender like Debabrata Roy could be kept out of the national team for such a long time. “... Debu is one of the best defenders in the country. The Indian Olympic team captain Raju Gaekwad should also be there in defence.”
Players like Naoba Singh, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Anil Kumar, Peter Carvalho, Jewel Raja and Mehtab Hussain are also likely to be called up for the national camp. The coach said he hoped to call up around 35 players for the first camp.
“I had a long discussion with the AIFF general secretary Kushal Das,” said Colaco.
On Friday, the AIFF decided to stick to the rules of allowing four foreigners to play for each side in the I-League.
It has also asked footballer N.P. Pradeep to put up an advertisement in a national level daily newspaper saying he did not use abusive language against AIFF officials on a social networking website.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110521/jsp/sports/story_14010507.jsp">http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110521/j ... 010507.jsp</a><!-- m -->
‘Unfit’ senior players who have ‘taken their place for granted’ will have to prove themselves to remain in the side, interim football team coach Armando Colaco said. If the 58-year-old, who is currently the coach of I-League champions Dempo, does manage to get things done his way, then his four-month stay promises to be a rather controversial one. And he realises that.
“I know there will be a lot of criticism for a few decisions that I will take. But these decisions need to be taken keeping in mind the long-term interest,” Colaco told DNA, hinting that skipper Baichung Bhutia may not fit in his plans and may be out of the squad for 2014 World Cup qualifier against UAE in July.
Colaco said he has already taken All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) permission to include at least six Dempo players in the squad, so that the rest of the players understand the style of play that will be adopted in the future.“We will play four-vs-two’s, five-vs-two’s in training so that the passing becomes better. In a match, you look up, control the ball and make a pass — all in one flow. In case there is a scoring opportunity up front, then play the long ball. More you have the ball, more are the chances of you scoring.
“All this sounds simple. At Dempo, we have practiced this style for many years before we started getting rewards. Same will be the case with India. We can’t expect anything in four months or one year,” he explained. One change that he does expect to bring is in the squad. Colaco is of the opinion that youngsters doing well in the I-League need to be given an opportunity to play for India.
“For that to happen, many senior players, who have taken their place for granted will be left out. I have the players I want in the squad in my mind and I will discuss it with the rest of coaching staff before making an announcement. Many egos will be hurt and there will be a lot hue and cry, I guess but I cannot help it,” he said, adding that youngsters like Anil Kumar (playing for Viva Kerala) and Raju Gaikwad (Indian Arrows) should be given an opportunity.
A Herculean task awaits Colaco, though. “UAE is a strong contender to qualify. Did we expect India to beat Australia, South Korea or Bahrain in the Asian Cup? Same will be the case now. Moreover, there won’t be enough time for preparation.
“The I-League ends on June 1 and the camp will begin 10-15 days after that. And within a month, we will have our match. So it will be a quite exhausting for everyone. Having said that, miracles do happen and we can pull of an upset win,” he said.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_seniors-have-to-prove-themselves-interim-india-coach_1546099">http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_se ... ch_1546099</a><!-- m -->