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Since the application for the position of head coach of the Indian senior national men's football team has been opened, a lot of prominent and revered personalities have approached the AIFF to fill the position.
Two of the biggest names to do so are Sven-Goran Eriksson and Sam Allardyce. However, both of them are unlikely to get the mantle from Stephen Constantine to lead India.
According to the sources, Sam Allardyce did express interest for the role through his client but, the AIFF has not received a duly filled application form from him yet. Since Friday was the last date to pitch one's name, it is unlikely that Sam Allardyce would be the next head coach of the Indian football team.
The role for the Indian national team head coach is a pretty lucrative offer as the predecessor Stephen Constantine used to get approximately USD 21,000 per month. According to the Asian standards, this is a pretty high-paying job as apart from China, none of the Asian countries gives out so much.
Moreover, none of the African football federations pay out so much but, some European and South American football federations do so. However, the ones who would be applying for the position of the head coach of the national team in India won't be qualified enough to lead the team in Europe or South America. Hence, the position of the head coach of the Indian football team is garnering a lot of attention from all across the globe.
Coming to Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Swede did express an interest in the job through his agent but, the AIFF doesn't consider his achievements worthy enough to justify the salary. The 71-year-old recently managed Philippines in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup but couldn't help the South East Asian nation in progressing to the next round.
Apart from Eriksson and Sam Allardyce, a plethora of ISL and I-League managers have applied for the position. The AIFF will now hand over a shortlist to the Technical Committee, headed by legendary footballer Shyam Thapa, who would trim it down further. The AIFF will announce the new head coach by the first week of April after holding talks with the applicants put forward by Shyam Thapa.
During the appointment of Stephen Constantine, the AIFF had received similar inquisitiveness, with Ashley Westwood, Trevor Morgan, and Ricki Herbert being the front-runners.
Bhaichung Bhutia led the Technical Committee then and advised the AIFF to select an individual who wasn't aloof to the scenario in Indian football totally and had prior experience in coaching a national team as well.
The latter criteria struck off the former two names and after holding talks with both Herbert and Constantine, the Englishman was chosen to pick up the reigns from his predecessor Wim Koevermans.
Only time will tell what criteria the AIFF and Technical Committee would decide to shortlist the names and hand over the final job.
Regardless of the name, the first task in hand for the new coach would be to guide India a respectable finish in the 2019 Kings' Cup which will be held in Thailand in June. It will be followed by international friendlies in July or August and the World Cup Qualifiers, which is set to commence from September.
