Watching from the sidelines

S S Narayanan, former Olympian The AIFF must have appointed a foreign coach only because of Sukhwinder Singh8217;s failure. I see no other ...

S S Narayanan, former Olympian

The AIFF must have appointed a foreign coach only because of Sukhwinder Singh8217;s failure. I see no other reason. Though Constantine seems to have done a wonderful job, credit for Vietnam should also go to the young players. The team should now concentrate on the Asian Games, where it will face a real test against much stronger rivals.

I must also compliment Mumbai striker Abhishek Yadav; though he scores freely as a substitute, I think he should be played from the start. We must not waste his talent.

PK Banerjee, former India coach

Any victory is a victory. It8217;s a sign of revival. If the team performs well in England we can look forward to some great performances in the Asian Games. Constantine has done a good job, especially in working with the juniors. In terms of modern footballing knowledge, foreign coaches are always ahead of us because they are always learning. In sharp contrast, Indian coaches are in an isolated island. But that doesn8217;t mean our coaches are inferior. Sukhi Sukhwinder Singh did a good job during the World Cup qualifiers last year, where we won a tough match against UAE.

Bimal Ghosh Air-India, once voted the best coach in India

The credit for Vietnam must go to the young players. In the span of a week, they8217;ve taken Indian football ahead by some decades. I8217;ve read and heard a lot about Constantine, but I8217;ll reserve my verdict for some time. Let him come back from the Asian Games. Then I may not even need to say anything; the performance will speak for itself. I8217;ve always been against hiring foreign coaches. Tell me, how many teams with foreign coaches have won the National Football League? We also have good Indian coaches around. Sadly they are not given the task. Will AIFF change its outlook?

Yusuf Ansari Air-India, former India goalkeeper

I don8217;t understand why AIFF spends so much money on hiring a foreign coach. Instead, the money should be utilised for creating facilities for the players who attend the National camps that are held in pathetic conditions. Do you know, many senior players think twice before joining the camps? Give better facilities to the present lot and see the results yourself. The boys have shown what they can do. I will request AIFF to give them the best.

Dharmendra Jore 038; Aminul Islam

8220;I must say foreign coaches are very much required because we, the Indian coaches, don8217;t know what is happening around us8221;
Dereyk Desouza, former India coach

It was a fantastic win. I have been underlining the importance of the 8216;catch-them-young8217; policy. It8217;s very satisfying to see that we have started with the youngsters. I must compliment AIFF for that. I must say foreign coaches are very much required because we, the Indian coaches, don8217;t know what is happening around us. We lack international requirements and new techniques. Even if we have knowledge, we don8217;t know how to make use of it properly. We don8217;t know how to make our boys play robust football and avoid the dirty game. I think we are going in the right direction by hiring Constantine, who will definitely help Sukhwinder Singh. To learn from a foreign coach should be the agenda of our coaches.