October 8, 2014 by admin

Indian football team coach Koevermans steps down

Siliguri, Indian football team coach Wim Koevermans on Monday stepped down from the post soon after the country suffered a defeat in an international friendly, here.

After India lost to Palestine 3-2, Koevermans declared in the post-match presentation ceremony that that he would not continue as coach of the Indian national team.

“This was my last match as the coach of the national team and I will not be taking up the post of AIFF’s Technical Director for personal reasons,” he said.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my stint and stay in India. It was a nice gesture by the players,” he referred to the Guard of Honour which the players gave to Koevermans at the end of the match.

Koevermans’ contract as the national coach with AIFF ends on October 31, 2014.

“When I took charge I was told to change the style of play and there has been a huge improvement on that front. We created chances in every match that we played and played some good football. But that hasn’t been enough,” he stated.

National team captain Sunil Chhetri described the phase under the Dutchman as a “great journey.”