Igor Stimac Opens Up On 'Speculated' Sour Relationship With AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey

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A not-spelled-out distance was reported between Indian football head coach Igor Stimac and Indian football federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey. However, the Croatian brought an end to those reports saying he "had a wonderful meeting with Kalyan".

In the recent past, reports said that the duo was not on talking terms since they last met during the SAFF Championship final in Bengaluru last year. It was also added that Chaubey was unwilling to extend Stimac's contract but agreed as other members backed the 56-year-old coach.

However, Stimac debunks some of the claims, saying that all went well during his recent conversation with AIFF's top brass.

"We discussed, what is really important, and he (Kalyan) was there to make sure that everything will be provided for the national team," the coach told RevSportz.

Owing to the history of the Stimac-Kalyan issue, Stimac has had confrontations of multiple questions related to his boss but the head coach dismissed the claims saying "people will always be speculative and we should not focus on it".

Stimac, who has been at the helm of the Indian team since 2019, further added that the modus operandi of any national federation doesn't require the head coach and president to communicate regularly but to do so through the general secretary, who acts as the bridge between the two.

However, Stimac only opened a can of worms by mentioning the general secretary as things have been far from smooth administrative-wise for Indian football. The post of general secretary is currently held by deputy secretary M Satyanarayan on a temporary basis after former secretary Shaji Prabhakaran had a fallout with Chaubey.

Chaubey's administrative role came further under question as he has been accused of AIFF's funds misuse from various entities, including by AIFF's former principal legal advisor Nilanjan Bhattacharjee, who was asked to resign following the allegations. Chaubey has also denied all such allegations. Stimac said such 'severe attacks' on AIFF has hindered the team's performance as well.

"Some severe attacks on the football houses, not only this year but last year also. These attacks have become a hindrance in terms of team performance so far. With hoped in the future peace would be sustained in football houses which eventually overcome the adversities," concluded Stimac.