New Technical Director Rob Baan has tough job on hand

Today, November 1 Dutchman Robert 'Rob' Baan officially takes over as the technical director of the All India Football Federation. The 68 year Baan, who was born in Rotterdam, has a tough job on hand to organise and structure Indian football; but also give it a long-term vision so that India can move to be amongst the stronger sides in Asian football.

Baan brings with him over 45 years experience as a coach and technical director with him having worked at home in the Netherlands, the UAE and Australia; but not everywhere they have been convinced by his work. Especially in Australia there have been critical voices about his tenure as Technical Director of the FFA. But India will be a new frontier for him and he will have to work hard to improve Indian football.

"I'd like to introduce Indian football to a new vision so that it becomes a respected football nation in Asia as well as the world. This assignment is a new challenge for me - the challenge to assist and develop football in India and take it to a higher level," Baan said.

"My primary role is to write a master plan and a curriculum for National Youth Development and to assist in establishing the Elite Academy and the Regional Academies all over the country," stated Baan.

"From the moment I join I will do my best to gather all the necessary information and I can only do that when I land in India. Obviously I will travel to watch I-League matches and talk to coaches to gain first-hand practical knowledge," Baan added.

Baan understands that India is a vast country and only team work can bring success. "I cannot do it on my own. It's a team game and I'd need the help of all stakeholders to create the right structure. We need to chalk out and implement realistic plans as that will be the base for future success."

An issue raised again and again is the short stature of Indian footballers and on this Baan has said, "“Well, we cannot change that. But the game is not entirely about big-bodied players. Ghana, for example, also have some short-statured players but they did make it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Africa."

Another topic which comes up for discussion when talking about Indian football is infrastructure. On this Baan said, "It's useless thinking about it and sitting idle as we have to cope up with the present situation. The scenario just cannot be changed in a short term. As long as it is being addressed in the long run, it's OK. We need to improvise."

Baan has a lot of work on his plate. And one can only hope in the interest of Indian football that he is able to deliver. All the best Rob!!!