Ranjit Bajaj has slammed the All India Football Federation after his appointment as the manager of the India U15 team for the upcoming U15 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

AIFF appointed Bajaj appointed as India U15 Manager with Bibiano Fernandes as head coach for the tournament, but Bajaj has pointed out some glaring issues behind the appointments.

Reacting exclusively to MyKhel after being named manager of India’s U-15 team, the Minerva Academy owner welcomed the opportunity but questioned the AIFF’s approach, saying the appointment would only work if his complete footballing structure and long-term plan were implemented.

“I never applied to become just the manager”

“If they appoint only one coach and surround him with people who have different philosophies and different visions, they’re setting the team up for failure. Football doesn’t work like that. Everyone has to be working towards the same footballing philosophy.”

Bajaj opines the last-ditch effort from the AIFF has no impact at all, as it is only setting up the coaches and players for failure.

“Other countries have been preparing for this competition for over a year. They’ve already played 25-30 international matches. India is announcing appointments at the last moment. Without proper preparation, you’re setting the coach and the players up for failure. I raised these concerns one and a half months ago. If you wanted to appoint someone, whether it’s me, Bibiano Fernandes or anyone else, it should have happened a year ago – not a few weeks before the competition.”

Bajaj won’t accept job if AIFF ignores proposal

Minerva, under Bajaj’s guidance, recently won the Gothia Cup and have been the flag-bearing team for India in various international tournaments. But Bajaj informs MyKhel that he won’t accept this half-hearted role.

“First of all, I never applied to become just the manager. I submitted a proposal that included my entire high-performance team – Pro Licence coaches, sports psychologist, nutritionist, biomechanist, mental conditioning coach, cognitive expert, neuro-vision expert, goalkeeping specialist and the complete excellence centre. Ranjit Bajaj alone isn’t the system. The system is what has produced results,” he says to MyKhel.

“If they only want to appoint me as a manager without implementing the football structure I’ve proposed, then I’m not interested. I’ve submitted an 85-day day-by-day roadmap. Either implement that vision completely or don’t appoint me at all. I’m not going to do this halfway.”

On Bibiano Fernandes joining the setup

AIFF announced the appointment of Bibiano Fernandes as head coach, which further creates instability. Being two tacticians and football personnel with contrasting visions and approaches, Bajaj reckons these appointments will only create further conflict.

“If reports are true that Bibiano is being brought into the setup, then why create confusion? If you’ve decided he’s the right person, appoint him. But don’t put two people with different footballing philosophies together. That only creates conflict and hurts the team.

“And to be honest, if you[AIFF] wanted to appoint Bibiano, you should have put him as head coach a year ago, when the world started preparing for the U15 World Cup. What can even he do now with just a month to go.”

But the question doesn’t end here. Bajaj has further questioned if the AIFF even has a squad for the U15 World Cup. With less than two months to go before the tournament, the player pool is not identified. Amid the current situation, the veteran Minerva coach questions the preparation, which perhaps needed addressing months ago. Other teams have already played around 25-30 matches and are sizing up for the tournament, India will head into it with a gross lack of preparation and edge.

“Forget Ranjit Bajaj or Bibiano Fernandes – bring Pep Guardiola if you want. No coach in the world can build a competitive team in one month. You need months of planning, scouting, player identification and preparation. Where is the squad? Do we even have a player pool? This is nothing but setting us up for failure.”