Had to undergo urgent heart surgery due to pressures of Indian football, says ex-coach Igor Stgimac – CNBC TV18

Former Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac has revealed that work stress led to him having to undergo an urgent heart surgery in December. Prior to that, Stimac had said that the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers held greater importance for him as compared to the AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar, which did not sit down well with the All India Football Federation (AIFF)

Stimac alleged that Indian football is imprisoned under the aegies of AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey. He further said that he was fed up of the lies and unfulfilled promises made to him during his tenure.

“After I told them that the World Cup Qualifiers were more important than Asian Cup, I received a final warning from AIFF. When I received the final warning on December 2, no one knows this, I finished in the hospital,” Stimac said in a press conference after his ouster from the job.

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He added, “I was disturbed with everything going on; stressed from the obvious problems. I had an immediate surgery on my heart. I wasn’t ready to speak to anyone or find excuses.”

India endured a disappointing campaign in the Asian Cup, losing all of their group stage matches to suffer a first-round exit. Their hopes of furthering in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers crashed in the matches held this month. Stimac was sacked from the responsibility after that.

“The sooner Kalyan Chaubey leaves AIFF, the better it is for Indian football. Football is the most popular sport in the world, but India is the only place where football is not growing,” he explained.

Stimac maintained that he had never been relieved from his duties earlier in his coaching career. He explained that the entire process was unfair on him and he has made it known in his letter to the AIFF, where he has demanded for his unpaid dues to be paid under 10 days. He insisted that he was ready to put his job on the line and gear his team up for the Asian Cup and give his best shot.