U-17 coach charts way forward with Germany trip

Back in 2005, Nicolai Adam came to Ladakh as a tourist. There he bought a bike and rode all the way to Goa. Unthinkable for many, but not for Adam. Little did the German know then that a decade later he would be heading to the beach state as the newly appointed chief coach of India’s Under-17 football team.

Why become the coach of India juniors, was the obvious question. “After being the coach of the little-known Azerbaijan youth teams for more than five years, I was looking for a role that was challenging enough. Thankfully, AIFF offered me one,” said Adam, who will be based at the AIFF training centre in Goa.

Addressing his first press conference in New Delhi following his appointment, the 42-year-old exuded confidence of assembling a decent side for the U-17 FIFA World Cup, which India will be hosting in two years’ time.

“I am happy with the talent that I have seen in India so far… We have more than two years to build a decent side for the World Cup,” Adam said.

Having gained world-wide recognition after training the Azerbaijan U-19 team to the elite group of Uefa, Adam, as part of the preparations for the U-17 World Cup, has planned four exposure trips abroad, beginning with a trip to Germany in June.

For this, he has selected 20 players. They will play against TSG Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, in Germany.

“We have planned four trips, and will play the AFC qualifiers in September in India. These trips, I feel will help us for the U-17 World Cup,” he added.

An UEFA pro-licence holder, he reckons he will have a clearer picture on team composition only a year before the World Cup actually kicks off. Till then, he will be constantly scouting for players and grooming them for the challenges ahead.

Regarding the scouting for young talent, Adam said he has taken inputs from India’s national team coach Stephen Constantine.

“Look, we need more players and scouting will be an on-going process. Stephen and I have spoken on a lot of issues regarding Indian football, and scouting for talent was one of them. Be it the Subroto Cup or whatever, the doors to the national team is always open to talented players who are born on or after 2000,” he added.