Joakim Alexandersson, the unsung hero of Indian women’s football?
Alexandersson had been the guiding force for Under-17 and Under-20 girls' road to AFC Asian Cup finals this year
A viral video clip of the ecstatic Under-17 India women’s team, breaking into the tune of A.R. Rahman’s Maa tujhe salaam (Motherland, salute to you) around a balding and muscular European on Friday night had been doing the rounds on social media. The emotions were understandable as the girls had just pipped Uzbekistan 2-1 to qualify for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup after 20 years, but curiosity was stoked around the man in the middle.
Joakim Alexandersson, the Swedish head coach of both the Under-20 and Under-17 women’s team only last December, may have failed to follow the lyrics – but certainly not the raw emotions. It may have been less than a year that the 49-year-old Joakim had been roped in by the AIFF as part of an agreement with the Swedish Football Federation but he has turned out to be a miracle worker of sorts.
It was only in August that the Under-20 women’s team qualified for U-20 AFC Asian Cup after 22 years while the senior women’s team created a stir earlier this year when they qualified for the AFC Asian Cup – all the AFC events coming up next year. It was hence a triple delight – extremely significant as it came at a time when the men’s senior team had floundered in their bid to qualify for their third straight Asian Cup.
‘’It’s not only creditable for the Under-17 group, but for the profile of women’s football in the country,’’ said Alexandersson after his girls rallied to tame the Uzbeks 2-1 in the final match of their qualifiers at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) on Friday. India finished top of Group G with six points from two matches, their first ever continental qualification at this age group. The Young Tigresses had last featured in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup in 2005 when 11 teams participated directly.
Taking charge of both teams, Alexandersson began his coaching stint in India with a two-month long U-20 camp which began in Bengaluru from 10 December which yielded dividends. ‘’I feel India has a big potential. Football is a big sport here and everyone wants to progress so I think I have a good opportunity here and I’m looking forward to it,” Alexandersson said on taking charge.
The Swedish coach had a playing career as a defender, mostly for IF Elfsborg, captaining the club and winning multiple trophies and is also a former Sweden U-21 international. He began his career as a youth director and coach at the club in 2014 and coached the Elite U-17, U-16, U-15 and U-14 teams of boys and girls, leading to multiple youth league titles and player promotions to senior teams.
The coaches who formed the support staff for Alexandersson are Nivetha Ramadoss, Amrutha Aravind, Sradhanjali Samantaray and Nidhi. The two goalkeeper coaches are KK Hameed and Dipankar Choudhury.
However, Alexandersson isn’t the first Swede to be coaching in the Indian women’s football setup. Thomas Dennerby was the head coach of the U-17 side during the 2020 FIFA World Cup in India and went on to helm the senior national team between 2021-2023.