By Joseph Solomon,
AIFF Media Team
BENGALURU: Stephen Constantine’s India came in for lavish praise from his Iranian counterpart Carlos Quieroz at the Official post match Media Interaction.
“India were not sitting down and defending at all. The played aggressive Football and they were pressurizing us and that left some of my Players surprised and confused. They were creating problems for us in the middle of the park. They were aggressive,” he maintained.
“They (India) were really close to scoring in the first half. Sunil (Chhetri) was initiating a lot of attacks for them,” the former Real Madrid Manager added.
“After having Turkmenistan and Guam, I can say India deserve to be ranked much higher. They were never defensive,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Head Coach of the Indian National Team Stephen Constantine stressed on the importance of matches against the very best in the business, after India went down fighting 3-0 to 40th ranked Iran on Tuesday (September 08, 2015).
Speaking in the official post match press conference, Constantine said, “You need to play games against the very best in the World.”
“These boys dint play a competitive game for 3 months and they performed like that today. It was evident that we do have potential, we just need some time and matches,” he echoed.
The Indian National Team displayed an ironical new found courage today, given Iran are 40th in the World, and gave their opponents a run for their money.
Saluting the attitude of the Indian contingent, Constantine expressed: “We worked very hard and we gave them a very tough match. And it would be fair to say that we made the match difficult for them.”
“I am more than pleased with the fighting spirit and the never-say-die attitude showcased today by the Indian Team,” he added.
Constantine also informed that this might be an inception of a new India- one which is hungry, attacking and instilled with a fighting attitude. “I don’t want to sit back and defend when we play in India. In India, we will set the rules against whoever we play”, informed the British Coach.
“We have made a beginning today and I want us to perform at consistent level from now on. The Players showcased superb attitude and work-rate.”
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