Great Bora Milutinovic tells India confidence and sacrifice must for success

Panaji: When Bora Milutinovic heard that the Indian football team had landed in Qatar for the AFC Asian Cup 2023, he dialled his “old friend” Igor Stimac.
The two have been friends for a long time. When Stimac, now coach of the Indian football team, was coaching Al Shahaniya SC in Qatar, Milutinovic lived a stone’s throw away.
On New Year’s Day, the Indian football team got a pleasant surprise when the legendary Serbian who has coached a record five World Cup teams turned up for the training session and gave them a pep talk, ahead of what is expected to be a difficult AFC Asian Cup campaign.
“Bora spent quite some time with the players and told them what it takes to reach great heights,” said a senior official. “He spoke of the importance of self-confidence, commitment and sacrifice.”
Milutinovic, one of the most celebrated football coaches of all time, also took the coaching staff and some players for lunch at a Mexican restaurant on Tuesday. He had invited the squad, but most players were busy with swimming, sauna and treatments.
Now 79, Milutinovic has coached a record five World Cup teams: Mexico (1986), Costa Rica (1990), US (1994), Nigeria (1998) and China (2002). After coaching Qatar’s top club, al-Sadd, he worked as an ambassador for Qatar’s World Cup 2022 bid.
“It was an honour to meet a big personality like him and listen to his words,” said goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Defender Sandesh Jhingan was also in awe. “He used certain words and phrases that made a big impact on me. He told us about the importance of having a dream and following it. I didn't think much about it at that moment because we were about to start training, but later when I came back to the hotel to reflect on the whole thing, it really got me thinking. Speaking to him was inspiring,” said Jhingan.
Meanwhile, the Indian team has kickstarted preparations in Doha for the Asian Cup. Contrary to speculations, sources confirmed that the team will not play any international friendly prior to the opener against Australia on January 13.
Stimac is wary of injuries ahead of the continental showpiece. The coach is understood to be planning an intra-squad game, either on January 7-8, depending on the team’s progress in training.