Let’s celebrate Indian football for now, says Dronacharya Armando Colaço

The streak of optimism around Indian football, in the wake of the Blue Tigers finishing with a bronze in the CAFA Nations Cup earlier this week, has Armando Colaço excited. The latest recipient of the Dronacharya Award in football earlier this year feels that given the current trend of results by the national teams, there are reasons for the Indian football fan to be upbeat.

Now 70, the Goan is a perfect example of been there, done that — having been at the helm of leading clubs and also in charge of the national team for a brief period in 2010-11. During his stint as national coach, Colaço had some impressive results, including a 2–1 victory over Qatar in a friendly at Doha. The same year, he guided India to a creditable 2–2 draw against the United Arab Emirates in a World Cup qualifying match in Delhi.

Soon after receiving the Dronacharya — only the third football coach to receive this honour after Syed Nayeemuddin and Bimal Ghosh — Colaço rallied for Indian coaches for top jobs. ‘’I have been reading that Ghosh and I were responsible for the selection of Khalid Jamil as national coach after Manolo Marquez’s exit. It was actually a collective decision of the entire technical committee but yes, we did our bit to convince them that it’s high time we gave a break to a deserving Indian candidate,’’ he said.

Speaking to National Herald over the phone, Colaço said: ‘’See, I am not against foreign coaches as a few of them — like Bob Houghton and Stephen Constantine — produced some good results. Under Stephen, the team did well in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and a number of World Cup qualifiers, but you cannot discount the fact that an Indian coach knows the psyche and abilities of our local players the best.’’

However, can a stray bronze medal usher in winds of change in the sport in India, at a time when the entire 2025-26 season looks uncertain? ‘’Not really, but fact is, there is room for optimism if you look at the current results. It’s not about the senior men’s team alone but the quality of football the Under-23 boys played under Naushad Moosa is really heartwarming. The women’s national teams, both senior and junior, have also made the cut for the next AFC Asian Cup finals.

‘’I know it’s fashionable to criticise Indian football but it’s a global sport and competition is tough. Let’s celebrate the good work they are doing too,’’ remarked the elder statesman of Indian football, who was actively coaching Sporting Clube de Goa until last season.

Khalid, a former international footballer who rose through the ranks by shepherding an unheralded Aizawl FC to the I-League and a star-less Jamshedpur FC to the cusp of glory in the ISL, has now become the toast of the nation. There had been some criticism about his ultra-defensive strategy against higher ranked opponents at the CAFA Cup, but Colaço says it was a pragmatic move.

‘’The basic principle of coaching is that one has to build tactics according to available resources. First, he had very little time to prepare and then not all players were available as Mohun Bagan Super Giant refused to release their players. He was also trying to experiment with a number of new players, so the best option for him was to adopt a safety-first strategy,’’ Colaço said.

Looking ahead, the veteran said the real challenge lies in the upcoming AFC qualifiers. ‘’The pressure will be tremendous as the team has to win all the matches. If Khalid recalls Sunil (Chhetri), there will be some leadership upfront as lack of quality strikers is still a problem. Let’s remember that both goals in the opener against Tajiskistan were by defenders Sandesh Jhingan and Anwar Ali from set-piece moves,’’ he signed off.