FIFA World Cup qualifiers / Indian Football Team

Stimac expects a full house in Kolkata

by Rounak Majumdar September 11, 2019

The mecca of Indian football, Kolkata is renowned for its history. Right from the rivalry between East Bengal & Mohun Bagan, to the historic IFA Shield victory against the East Yorkshire team, and innumerable others, Kolkata is quite famous for its footballing culture.

Soon after India made history yesterday, the head coach, Igor Stimac called upon the fans from the City of Joy to be there at the VYBK Stadium as the 12th man for their upcoming game against Bangladesh.

VYBK Stadium is one of the finest stadiums in India. Also, Coach Igor Stimac is well aware of the footballing scene in Kolkata. During the post-match conference at Doha, he stated, “Our performance against Qatar is an invitation to fans for our next home game. We have heard a lot about the passion for football in Kolkata. I want to see a full house at the YBK Stadium fans in Kolkata for our match against Bangladesh,”

“You need to be our 12th player. We deserve that and I expect them to come and help us get the three points,” Stimac who coached Croatia to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 stated.

There were many concerns from the pundits as well as the fans about the fitness issues the national team has. On that note, Stimac affirmed, “Against Qatar, we proved to everyone who was talking about a lack of fitness among the players. Qatar is in a different league as compared to any team in Asia and my boys made sprints till the very last minute. They defended with such concentration throughout, which really proves their fitness capacity,”

“As a coach, I am more than happy to get a point against the Asian Champions. All credit to my players and I’m really proud of them. I would also like to congratulate Qatar as the crowd really enjoyed the match and there was good football on display.” the coach concluded.

India next lock horns against Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 15.