In a surprising revelation, former Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi Hernandez had reportedly applied for the vacant Indian national football team head coach position, but his application was rejected by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) technical committee citing affordability concerns.
Earlier this week, the AIFF technical committee shortlisted three names from a pool of 170 candidates to succeed former coach Igor Stimac, who exited following India’s defeat to Hong Kong in June. The final list includes Jamshedpur FC coach Khalid Jamil, former India coach Stephen Constantine, and former Slovakia national team coach Stefan Tarkovic. These names will now be sent to the AIFF Executive Committee for final selection.
While several big names such as ex-Liverpool players Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell and former Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean were also overlooked, the inclusion of Xavi Hernandez’s application caught many by surprise. His interest was confirmed by AIFF’s national team director Subrata Paul.
“It’s correct that Xavi’s name was there,” Paul told the Times of India. “The application was emailed to the AIFF.”
However, despite Xavi’s stature, the technical committee did not pursue his candidacy further.
“Even if Xavi was genuinely interested in Indian football and could be convinced to take up the job, we would need a lot of money,” a committee member told TOI.
Xavi, one of the most iconic midfielders in football history, won numerous honors with FC Barcelona, including eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies. He was also pivotal in Spain’s golden era, contributing to their triumphs in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008 and 2012.
After retiring as a player at Qatari club Al-Sadd in 2019, Xavi transitioned into management and later returned to FC Barcelona as head coach in 2021. His interest in Indian football isn’t entirely new; in an earlier interview with The Athletic, he had remarked, “I sometimes (follow) the Indian League because many Spanish coaches are there.”
(With inputs from agencies)