{"id":16282,"date":"2013-08-14T03:15:51","date_gmt":"2013-08-14T03:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=16282"},"modified":"2013-08-14T03:15:51","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T03:15:51","slug":"match-against-tajikistan-stays-a-big-challenge-for-us-says-wim-koevermans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=16282","title":{"rendered":"Match against Tajikistan stays a big challenge for us, says Wim Koevermans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignleft size-full wp-image-16281\" src=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/foot.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"156\" alt=\"Match against Tajikistan stays a big challenge for us, says Wim Koevermans\" style=\"margin-right: 6px; margin-left: 6px; float: left;\" \/>Khujand: History says the two Teams have met only in the AFC Challenge Cup. History further says there\u2019s just one hat-trick scored between the two Teams. History also says the two Teams have only played thrice among themselves.<br \/>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour Captain is a good Player. Our stopper-back has special plans for him. We won\u2019t allow him to score,\u201d a Tajikistan Football Federation Official who received the Team India contingent at the Dushanbe International Airport, smiled. \u201cWe are expecting 25000 people in the Stadium. It\u2019s a special match for us,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Post practice, while changing his boots, the \u2018Captain\u2019 listens. \u201cThey are very powerful,\u201d is all what he quips.<\/p>\n<p>What are your plans? You ask.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFootball is not an individual sport. We play a Team Game and we will,\u201d Sunil Chhetri declares.<\/p>\n<p>The Weather in Khujand has fluctuated since the Indian Team has camped here. If the first day was very pleasant, the second day was quite warm while the third day was windy, rainy and a bit chilly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m happy with the preparation,\u201d echoes National Coach Wim Koevermans. \u201cIt was a bit stressful to find the right training ground but the local people have been very helpful and the ground where we practiced was the best we could locate in the neighbourhood,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s good to see the boys back together but the match stays a big challenge for us \u2013 we are up against a very strong Tajikistan side,\u201d he goes on.<\/p>\n<p>Have you finalised on your Playing XI? \u201cI won\u2019t tell it at the moment,\u201d Koevermans jokes. \u201cJokes apart, I haven\u2019t finalised it as yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arnab Mondal, very highly-rated, and someone who missed out because of two untimely injuries earlier isn\u2019t willing to read much into the starting XI. \u201cIt\u2019s up to the Coach to decide as to who will start and who won\u2019t. Modern-day Football is all about the specific day. We are a good Team and we need to stay positive against Tajikistan,\u201d Mondal maintains.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIsn\u2019t it an irony that despite playing and dominating matches, the result hasn\u2019t been much favourable?\u201d Mehtab Hossain quips. \u201cI\u2019ve heard around 25000 or more would turn up for the Match. In such matches, you need to be mentally strong and give that extra bit. If you need to win, we need to give 200 percent,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe practice sessions have been fruitful. The telepathy has started to work,\u201d he pronounces.<\/p>\n<p>Methab has been an quintessential pat of Koevermans\u2019 squad along with Lenny Rodrigues, Francis Fernandes and Clifford Miranda. The fact that India\u2019s overseas win in an International Friendly was way back in 2004 against Kuwait crops up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to sneak out a result from this match,\u201d Miranda pronounces. \u201cWe desperately want to change the trend. We will go with an open mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the record, Tajikistan are ranked 114 while India are presently 145 on the FIFA ladder.<\/p>\n<p>Footballers all over have their own unique way to unwind themselves. With the Team Hotel devoid of any elevator, you ought to climb the stairs. And invariably at the first-floor lobby, you will see a bespectacled guy engrossed in his book. \u201cIt\u2019s a book on World War 2,\u201d Arata Izumi, perhaps for the first time, glancing out of the book tells you. It\u2019s hard not to spot his Samurai hairdo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did watch some videos of Tajikistan on Youtube. We have had Team Meetings where Coach has dissected them and we will be having more Meetings. We can\u2019t lose focus even for that split second. It\u2019s their Home match after all,\u201d he states.<\/p>\n<p>History points you to the calendar. It\u2019s August 13 and it was on this day that five years back India beat Tajikistan to earn a ticket to the Asian Cup in New Delhi in 2008. History also points you that Independence Day is just around the corner.<\/p>\n<p>Post Breakfast some boys go for a walk. With match-day approaching, they prefer to stay in their zone and talk among themselves. Some skit at the Lobby and call up their dear ones back Home while some stay busy playing Games on their snazzy Mobiles. Arata, meanwhile, has just turned another leaf of his book.<\/p>\n<p>The kick-off at the 20 Year of Independence Stadium is at 5.30pm (IST).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Khujand: History says the two Teams have met only in the AFC Challenge Cup. History further says there\u2019s just one hat-trick scored between the two Teams. History also says the two Teams have only played thrice among themselves.&nbsp; \u201cYour Captain is a good Player. Our stopper-back has special plans for him. We won\u2019t allow him [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[454,6293,10169],"class_list":["post-16282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-isn-front-stories","tag-afc-challenge-cup","tag-indian-sports-news-network","tag-tajikistan-football-federation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Match against Tajikistan stays a big challenge for us, says Wim Koevermans - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=16282\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Match against Tajikistan stays a big challenge for us, says Wim Koevermans - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Khujand: History says the two Teams have met only in the AFC Challenge Cup. History further says there\u2019s just one hat-trick scored between the two Teams. History also says the two Teams have only played thrice among themselves.&nbsp; \u201cYour Captain is a good Player. Our stopper-back has special plans for him. 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