Kolkata: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has relieved Nicolai Adam of his duties as the Head Coach of the Indian U-17 National Team with no less than nine months to go for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in India.
According to reports, he was sacked by the AIFF after a disappointing performance by the team in the Granatkin Memorial Tournament in Russia where India finished last in the 16 team tournament and could muster only one win out of a possible five. The Indian U-17 team even went on to lose against the lowly-ranked Tajikistan in the 15th place play-off. Nicolai is understood to have been told to step down by the AIFF president, Praful Patel.
The German coach took over the young squad back in 2015, but their performances were not up to the mark in the three home tournaments organised last year. The team didn’t even make the cut for the AIFF Youth Cup playoff’s held in May last year. Further disappointments in the AFC U-16 Championship and BRICS Youth Cup in Goa in September and October last year as well lead to mounting pressure on Adam.
Before coaching the Indian U-17 squad, Nicolai served as the national coach for the U-16 and U-17 national teams of Azerbaijan and even guided the U-19 national team to the Elite Group of UEFA. A result that made quite a lot of heads turn and was consequently roped in by AIFF. There were however improvements to the scorelines in recent times as the Indian side managed to win against two junior MLS (Major League Soccer) sides and even picked up a win against the Belarus U-18 squad leading upto the Granatkin Memorial Tournament.
The AIFF reportedly spent an estimated Rs 8 crore for the services of the German coach. The decision comes as a surprise to everyone because dropping a coach, just months away from a major tournament can seriously hamper a team’s preparation also given that this will be the first international football tournament of this magnitude that India will be hosting.
(With inputs from Hindustan times and Agencies)