Khalid Jamil's tenure off to promising start at CAFA Nations Cup: Armando Colaco

New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS) Dronacharya Awardee football coach Armando Agnelo Colaco believes the appointment of Khalid Jamil was important move, as it will help the Indian men’s senior national team develop a more homegrown style of football and will understand his players better than a foreign appointment would have.

Having been the first Indian to both play and coach the national team, Colaco was full of optimism when it came to the appointment of Jamil and wished him all the best for the future.

“I was the first to both play for and coach the Indian football team and I understand the importance of how being understood as a player and of understanding a player’s mindset as a coach. It is a welcome move to have an Indian coach as he understands the players and their capacities better. He will also be able to develop a more homegrown style of play suited for maximising results in the India scenario.

“At times the foreign tactics do not work due to numerous factors and hence there is a need to develop our own unique manner of playing football, which an Indian coach can very well develop. I wish Khalid Jamil the very best and the recent result at the CAFA Cup, where we beat two teams with superior rankings, is a promising start and shows that at some level the arrival of an Indian coach has helped,” Colaco told IANS, in an interaction facilitated by Vedanta Limited.

India marked their debut appearance in the CAFA Nations Cup with a third-place finish, defeating higher-ranked Oman 3-2 on penalties after the proceedings ended 1-1 post extra time, at the Hisor Central Stadium in Hisor, Tajikistan.

With the men’s team having suffered a rough patch over the past two years, women’s football has been growing rapidly. Their qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup marked the first time the Women in Blue have qualified for the continental cup through the qualifiers route, with their last appearance in the tournament coming in 2003. Alongside, the India U20 women’s national team secured qualification for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time in 20 year

Asked on what has prompted the resurgence, Armando replied, “AIFF’s focus on the state level leagues, the advent of the IWL2 and the IWL, the exposure to international campaigns or a greater number of competitions, and the greater emphasis on the essentials of the game, including fitness, are making a massive difference. There is greater clarity in terms of developing and executing the road map for the women’s game and that is showing through the results.”

Goa will play host to India’s upcoming AFC Asian Cup Final Round Qualifier Group C home fixture against Singapore on October 14. The match will take place at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, after an eight-year gap, at a venue with a rich history of staging major international and domestic football encounters.

Having hailed from Goa himself, Colaco believes India’s match against Singapore will reinvigorate their love for football and give an opportunity to youngsters to witness the global sport.

“With international football coming back to Goa, it is going to reinvigorate the Goan public and its love for football. A lot of the old timers have great memories of games at Fatorda, but the younger generation hasn’t witnessed the same and now with the upcoming match, we will have an opportunity to create a deeper connect with the venue,” Armando concluded.

--IANS

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