SAFF Championship 2013: "I hope other teams keep underestimating India" – Wim Koevermans

Wim Koevermans with the Indian national football team (Image credits AIFF Media)

In terms of form, India is possibly fourth in the pecking order among the SAFF 2013 semi-finalists, and the three other teams have been quite vocal about India’s shortcomings.

Nepal striker Anil Gurung revealed that their coach had asked them to exploit the weaknesses in India’s defence while Maldives captain Ali Ashfaq rated Wim Koevermans’s side as the weakest of all India teams that he has seen.

Afghanistan coach Yousef Kargar also went on to say that he would have preferred to face India in the semifinals to avoid the influence of Nepal’s home advantage. Clearly, there are hints that holders and six-time record champions India are being underestimated and Koevermans hopes that remains the case.

“I hope they do (underestimate India). People had termed our group as the group of the death, and the damage has been done. We had a very difficult ride in the group stage. It was much tougher than the other group of course. But now we have a semifinal to look forward to, so hopefully they will keep underestimating India,” Koevermans told Sportskeeda on the sidelines of Saturday’s training session.

The Euro 1988 winner revealed that besides suspended captain Sunil Chhetri, everyone else is available and admitted that having a gap of three days before their semifinal against Maldives on Monday is a positive.

“(Three days) gives us a better chance for recovery. That’s a big help, but on the other hand, I am not happy with the quality of the training grounds, but of course, that is a problem for everybody here. Sunil is suspended, but everybody else is thankfully available. So overall, yes, it’s a positive thing that we have more time to recover,” he said.

Koevermans kept out reigning AIFF Player of the Year, Syed Rahim Nabi from the starting line-up in the first two games and once again suggested that the versatile player is far from full fitness, despite completing 90 minutes and scoring against Nepal.

“You could see (in the game against Nepal) that he (Nabi) was playing after a long time because towards the end, his tank was completely empty and he had a few problems. It was tough for him, but he did his best,” the 53-year-old opined.

Koevermans was present at the Dasarath Stadium on Friday to watch Maldives’s goalless draw with Afghanistan but since Ali Ashfaq wasn’t used at all, the former Holland international didn’t have to say much about the Maldives skipper.

“He (Ashfaq) wasn’t on the team sheet yesterday so I can’t comment much, but everybody knows his quality and he played in the Nehru Cup also last year,” he said.

The Indian senior team has beaten Maldives in their last two meetings, including the 3-0 victory in last year’s Nehru Cup, which was Koevermans’s first assignment. India also defeated Maldives 3-1 in the SAFF 2011 semifinal, but the Dutchman wasn’t willing to dwell much on the past.

“Look, all that is behind us now. We can’t look back at that game (2011 semifinal) because players have changed and times have changed. But of course, this Maldives squad is similar to the one that featured in the Nehru Cup last year. I saw them for 90 minutes yesterday, and I can tell you we will be prepared for them in two days,” he concluded.