JOIN USThe Dempo coach has won everything in Indian football and an elevation to the hot seat might seem to be the next logical step.
“If they call me, I don’t mind taking up the job,” said Colaco, after his team defeated Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club 3-0 in the I-League game here on Sunday. “But they must call me,” he added.
Colaco felt Houghton should not have criticised the Indian system at the Asian Cup. “He should have talked about it earlier itself. There are problems in India, it is easy for the coaches who come from outside to criticise. Why didn’t he talk earlier?” asked Colaco.
The coach was happy with his team’s performance on the day. “After two defeats, getting back on track was important. I am happy with the show,” said Colaco, who didn’t have good words for the Sree Kanteerava Stadium turf. “The ground is very bad, you can’t play your normal game on this turf. People were targetting Murali but they should realise that the mistakes came due to the uneven bounce.”
Colaco had a special word of praise for stopper-back Mahesh Gawli but wasn’t too pleased with his goalkeeper. “Mahesh’s covering was superb today. But Subhasish wasn’t confident when it came to aerial balls. He was hesitating to come out. A goalkeeper who plays for India should be coming out confidently. He wasn’t doing that,” said Colaco.
The Dempo coach said his main aim was the Asian Champions League this time. “We are playing the qualifying game on February 19 and if we qualify, it will fulfil my greatest ambition. Unless you play against tougher teams, you wouldn’t know where you stand.”
HASC coach Thyagaraj said his plans just didn’t work. “Our team is playing well in away games but they are not able to reproduce the same game at home,” he said. HASC were without their manager Murali on the bench after the All India Football Federation sought an explanation for their protest against the controversial goal in their last match against East Bengal.