• Former National Football Coach Amir Alagić on reviving SL football 

Sri Lankan football has been at a standstill for more than half a year. With the green light given by FIFA to take part in the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers, the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) needs to resolve pending issues and resurrect football in order to ensure that the players can prepare for the games. 

In this backdrop, The Sunday Morning Sports caught up with former National Team Coach Amir Alagić for insight on how Sri Lankan football could be revived. In a wide-ranging interview, Alagić spoke of his stint as Sri Lanka’s National Football Coach and the obstacles to developing the sport in Sri Lanka, while pointing out urgently needed measures to fix football in the country.  

Following are excerpts: 

What are you up to these days? 

All is going well. My kids are in Austria and Germany and I visit them often. I also have some private business to take care of. I’m engaged in football in various roles as a commentator, educator, analyst, etc. When I’m off the job, I pay a lot of attention to personal education and further development. Life is good.

Where are you located now? 

I reside in Bosnia, but I have apartments in Turkey, Austria, and Germany. It’s boring to stay in one place.

Are you still coaching? 

After my time with the Sri Lankan National Team, I took a longer break to stay with my family. I really needed it. Then, I was shortly engaged at FIFA as a tactical freelancer. Recently, I have started to look for a new job. I’m waiting for my agents to find a lucrative deal either as a head coach or technical director.

Why did you leave Sri Lanka? 

I left the country due to unrest and living shortages. I spent some days hungry. I couldn’t go to the office due to lack of fuel. As a result, I agreed with the FFSL to return home to work remotely for another two months, hoping the situation would normalise. This didn’t happen, so we cancelled the contract on mutual consent.

How was your treatment by the FFSL administration?

I wasn’t accepted by all the top officials at the initial stages for various reasons, including by some local coaches. I realised that jealousy, greed, and lack of real opportunities were behind such behaviour. Another reason was that I am not reluctant to point out the problems directly to their face. I wanted rapid progress and development while FFSL wanted to just hold on to their positions. Instead of being with me, they opposed me. A better situation came with Jaswar Umar, after his appointment as FFSL President.

You were also the FFSL Technical Director. What can you say about your achievements?

I was faced with the daunting task of overhauling the broken football system in the country. I formed the Technical Group with eight units and a supporting administrative unit. We created many key documents such as the National Curriculum, Master Plan, Football Player DNA, Youth, Women’s and Men’s Football Strategies, and Training Curriculum to name a few. 

I didn’t find any of these when I first arrived in Sri Lanka. The next step was to fully include FIFA bodies to strengthen the system and secure additional funding. Even FIFA approved the formation of a South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) technical group headed by me. It meant working with Arsène Wenger’s group and others for the benefit of FFSL and SAFF. It didn’t work for a long time as I had to leave the country. 

Among practical achievements are approval of the AFC B Licence Course, AFC Grassroots Bronze Level, FIFA Youth Scheme, Women’s Strategy, FIFA Football for Schools programme, forming of youth national teams, coaching workshops, etc. I have to give credit to my technical staff, along with Sampath Perera. We worked well in the end.

I pay attention to details and man-management. I analysed the whole situation in Sri Lanka, not just at FFSL, and started to be familiar with local mentality, habits, and behaviour. As a result, I made a plan and programme that worked out well. 

It included Sri Lanka’s successful structure and organisation (finding the best staff and players, making rules, fair payments, and introducing team spirit combined with a drive for hard work, competitiveness, dedication, and a desire to win); management and leadership (100% professionalism, high discipline, high levels of motivation, positive outlook, a burning desire to win, always reinforcing how good and strong we are, focusing analysis); principles (all for one, one for all, we are Sri Lanka); and tactics and philosophy (attack with speed, power, penetration, and unpredictability, defend for survival, high-speed football and positional play, and offensive formation resulting in total football style).

You brought in several international players of Sri Lankan origin to play for the national side. How important do you think that was to uplift the quality of football here? 

That’s another key pillar I pushed for. The player analysis showed me that local players were not good enough to compete on the international stage. Therefore, I saw one way to get through this and it was only by bringing the overseas-based players into the national team. Through my network, friends, and suggestions I found 14 players in total. Then I selected the final eight. With them, I’m sure we would have won the SAFF tournament in the Maldives. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t see sincere intentions from the FFSL and the Government to complete the citizenship process for those eight players. However, Waseem, Dillon, and Marvin hugely contributed to our accomplishments, thus proving me right.

What are the weaknesses you have identified in our national team? 

There are several more that I worked on. One is the playing culture. To reach the top, a player must be a student of the game. If there is no club to play for and and no way of getting an income, it’s impossible. No culture, no career. 

Diet is another weak area. Without a proper diet, you cannot play at your best. Fitness was another; to play high, the fitness level has to be enough for 120 minutes. I didn’t have a qualified fitness coach but the team almost reached that level. Then the winning mentality; you are simply born with that. Most of our players didn’t have such values. They lacked the DNA for a long time. 

I just can say the standard has been set by Sujan and the late Duckson. If you can see such players, you have the answer. In the short-term, FFSL must change the playing environment first to provide optimal conditions for development. In the mid-term, more focus should be on overseas players while waiting for local development in all areas.

What were your favourite moments while in charge of the national side? 

I have three. The Lebanon match showed potential, the India match showed development, and the Bangladesh match showed maturity. Reaching such a level in a short time against much bigger rivals was a miracle despite Covid-19 and some hostile adversaries from the FFSL, the media, and the Government.

We are in need of a professional league in the country. You tried to start one while you were here. How did that work out? 

No league, no national team. It is as simple as that. It all began with the President’s Cup which was quite a successful event. Forming a top-tier league was a logical step forward. I pushed heavily and the FFSL, with President Jaswar, agreed to create the league. FIFA helped with funding to organise a semi-professional league. 

With the top players participating, I was finally able to observe and analyse players, selecting the national team squad ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers. My conclusion was that a huge workload awaited me to bring the team to the best in the South Asia region. I was a bit disappointed with the poor coaching and refereeing, though.

What does our team need to do to move forward? 

The situation is quite difficult, but it was created internally. There is a way. Those who caused the suspension should be removed from football. A few people kept football hostage in the last two decades and Sri Lanka knows who they are. The cleansing time has come. 

It’s sad how I left Sri Lanka without finishing my mission and vision. After my departure, everything collapsed. A historic chance has been wasted. I always aimed to finish my job anywhere I coached. I keep saying Sri Lanka is in my heart and I’m open to help in any capacity if asked. That’s the least I can do, after all.

I’m a professional and Sri Lanka is one of the best stories in my career. There is a lot to be done in a short period. The momentum has been lost. Key players have been lost. Local coaches who can work in top leagues overseas have not emerged. We are supposed to start from scratch again. I will consider such a call, but with conditions. I now have experience and know the situation, which is a huge advantage in the football business.

It’s a pretty short time to do anything spectacular. There is no league nor national team matches. The matter of the national coach is up in the air. Yemen is a quality side. Although taking the 156th spot in the FIFA ranking, most of their best players play in the Middle East leagues. 

I see three immediate methods: selecting the team and staff, training camp overseas with friendly matches, and regulating the status of the national players. I’m not convinced FFSL can manage this in less than five weeks. However, it’s good to start playing. Fans and media would like it very much. 

What’s your message to the players? 

The interest in football is huge. The potential is enormous; it was clearly shown during my tenure. However, football is pure business today. Unless the FFSL, stakeholders, and the Government stop considering football in such a way, nothing will move forward. 

The facilities are a crucial point. Amateurs can’t work in professional football. The FFSL should be transformed and nine provincial teams need to be created. The election to choose the FFSL President is a matter of life and death. The budget must be transparent. 

Federations and clubs become banks nowadays. The FFSL should be the same. However, without stable politics and a strong economy, it’s almost impossible to create high-level football. It will become the number one industry worldwide. Sri Lanka, do not miss that chance for future generations!