Alagic’s panacea for ailing Sri Lanka football
Science and high technology will play a greater role to change the course of football in Sri Lanka in future under the direction of Amir Alagic, whose aim is to make the sport played and run by top professionals.
Amir Alagic has probably the 'toughest job' in Asian football
Grassroots programme, women football, education of coaches, officials and referees, and revamping the archaic system of playing will be some of the key areas of focus during the next four years, said Alagic who has been grounded by COVID-19 pandemic since his arrival in the country almost a year ago though he has spent his time analysing the systems in place and what is the best way forward for Sri Lanka football.
Alagic is planning a complete overhaul of the set-up after taking over as head coach of a country ranked 206th in the FIFA rankings making it possibly the ‘toughest job’ in Asian football.
“I started as the head coach and then agreed with the Sri Lanka management that I take over as the Technical Director because in the last 10-15 years not much has been done about grassroots, coaching education, about professionalising the national team and lack of professional leagues. All these are things that influenced the current status of Sri Lanka football that we almost touched the bottom,” he said.
He cautioned fans to be patient and not to expect results overnight as Sri Lanka is lagging behind even their South Asian neighbours.
“India is at least ten years ahead of us. Bangladesh is five to six years ahead of us. That’s the reality we face,” he said.
As Technical Director of the FFSL (Football Federation of Sri Lanka), Alagic has developed a long-term plan.
“We have to plan for another four to six years. Don’t forget while we are doing the best we can, other countries are advancing too,” he said.
Alagic is aware of the passion for the game among fans but blamed lack of human resources for the lack of progress.
“We need the experts in the federation. People who are really dedicated and who are professionals to make an impact and deliver. We have so many people right now in and around the federation, people who have never played professional football,” he said.
An UEFA Pro License coach, Alagic has support of Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa and the public, but is wondering whether his projects will continue after election of a new FFSL president.
“Whoever comes as president (FFSL) this year must have a clear vision and be able to bring a development budget. It cannot be a survival budget,” he said.
He was blunt about the standard of football in the country after seeing the talents on display during the FFSL President’s Cup.
“If we play against Korea, the average running is 11-12 km. During the President’s Cup players ran 4km on average. It means they can compete around 30-35 minutes against the Koreans. That happened in the first leg in South Korea where our national team lost 8-0. Why? Because we didn’t have enough fitness to match with them. Lack of competitive matches and proper training are extremely hard to overcome in several months,” he said, reflecting Sri Lanka’s chances in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Asian zone second round matches.
“Our opponents are professional players. We have right now only two players playing overseas. Waseem Razeek in Germany and Dixon Pusles in Maldives. When you compare these two players with the South Korea players who are playing top leagues (EPL, China, La Liga, Bundesliga, K-League, etc.), we cannot match it. That’s a big issue,” he said.
Sri Lanka needs an injection of overseas players to lift their game, according to Alagic.
“Only by bringing overseas players of Sri Lankan origin will it be possible to increase the level of running, football intelligence and quality of the national team in following years,” he said, presenting his case to draft overseas players of Sri Lankan heritage as his top priority.
His plans of beefing up the coaching staff with more foreign expertise was scuttled because of the pandemic.
“Fitness coaches and analyst coaches are very important today. Hopefully I will bring them soon. We are waiting for the Catapult analysing system from Singapore. We will use this during training, FIFA matches and also the Super League,” he said.
“I initiated it as it will be much easier to evaluate our players. There is no national team in the world without this analysing system. The coach cannot accurately follow how a player is improving with his own eyes,” said Alagic, explaining the huge benefits of the technology.
“We need to bring updated science into Sri Lanka football. Medical and sports science at the top level will help in development and selection of our players. Today they have to eat properly to maintain their bodies for high level international competition. I introduced that process at the national team but it must be implemented into clubs too. Now, we also have a mental coach whose objective is to deal with players’ psychological issues. Pressure is everywhere. What I am saying is you have FIFA games tomorrow and you have so many problems today,” he said.
Alagic’s immediate goal is the SAFF Championship while his long-term objective is to see Sri Lanka rise up in the FIFA rankings to 150th after four to six years.
“For me as a coach I would like to see these (World Cup) games as a first step forward. We don’t have a chance to qualify. But we have a chance to at least see some overseas players coming in, see some young local players emerging on the international scene. Also to gain some experience for future challenges. That will be a huge success for us starting from zero,” he said.
“It’s a very tough job for me to rise from ashes. Surely the toughest in Asia right now. I need the support of fans, media and stakeholders. It will be a painstaking process. However, I am very positive because now we have the sports minister for the first time on our side who really understands the problems and wants to help from the heart. I spoke with him recently and he said ‘you just go ahead’ because he understands the current situation. Mr. Namal Rajapaksa wants to revitalise all sports and bring them to the professional level. Fans and media should understand that recovering football in Sri Lanka is a long process,” he said.
“What I am trying to do is help Sri Lanka football survive putting the foundation first and eliminating weaknesses. Everybody should understand that. I am very positive we can make it. I am not giving credit for myself but I am telling the people to be patient, support Sri Lanka football. Better times are coming but we have to wait. Let’s go through this system. It’s better to start today than tomorrow,” he said.
“I see this whole process from the perspective of six years. Our aim after four to six years is to be among 150 nations in the world. This is the goal. That is achievable if we go step by step realistically, having state support on our side,” he said.
“I am trying basically to bring Europe here not just because I am European. I am trying to bring European standards because Europe is the most advanced,” said Alagic, who wants to introduce 4-3-3 formation as the foundation of his national curriculum from grassroots level.
“This is our country. We are talking about regaining national team pride. I want everybody interested to be with us. Criticise if it is really something bad because I am not doing for myself. I am trying right now to correct mistakes from the past and install the correct way forward,” he said.
“I am still not doing my job to be honest because. If I am doing my job, I should have a professional league now, I should have professional players and coaching staff. I don’t have in full sense. I am imposed to create everything first. Who is doing that in the world? So, it’s a very tough job. That’s why football recovery should be a state project. If football improves that also opens up employment and commercial opportunities,” said Alagic, who is on his 17th assignment having coached in countries like Bosnia, Germany, Australia, USA, Brunei, Oman, India etc.