Football: Serb’s appointment a waste of money say senior Pakistan players

Footballers skeptical of Milosavljevic’s role, want investment in infrastructure.


Natasha Raheel November 06, 2011
Football: Serb’s appointment a waste of money say senior Pakistan players

KARACHI: Senior players have termed the appointment of Serbian coach Zavisa Milosavljevic as ‘a waste of money and effort’ and instead asked the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to invest in infrastructure and facilities for the development of the game.

The PFF hired Milosavljevic on a two-year contract and his first assignment will be to prepare the team for the Saff Cup that will be played next month.

The Serb has also taken over the supervision of the camp from former coach Tariq Lutfi where 22 players, all from the under-23 squad, are in training.

According to Wapda striker Arif Mehmood, who played for Pakistan against Malaysia and Palestine earlier this year, a new coach can only train the team to a certain extent and the PFF needed to invest in facilities and infrastructure.

“By the time these foreign coaches understand the crux of the matter, it’s time for them to go,” Mehmood told The Express Tribune. “The biggest problem with Pakistan football is that there are no facilities for the players. The appointment of a foreign coach can only make sense if we have everything else in place.

“We’ve had foreign coaches before as well but none of them worked for us.”

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Essa Khan said that only time will tell of the team’s progress under Milosavljevic. On the other hand, Lutfi has refused to assist Milosavljevic, saying that he cannot work with a foreign coach.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th,  2011.

COMMENTS (4)

Majid | 12 years ago | Reply

senior players monopoly. Federation must stand firm in its decision. These "senior" players are useless. Better lose them.

FootballPakistan.Com | 12 years ago | Reply

Very unimpressive reasoning by our "senior" players.

domestic football can only be improved if the game is professionalised, department football teams are abolished, private clubs and teams are formed, and public/corporate sectors get involved.

long term appointment of qualified ambitious foreign coaching staff is a hallmark of success in developing football nations. Our domestic coaches are part of their specific departments or provincial FA lobbies and cannot and will not ever be good enough unless these departments are abolished.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ