Anwar Ali says if Not in India He Will Try to Go Abroad and Play; Lionel Messi Wants an End to FC Barcelona Feud and More (Football Round-Up)

Indian footballer Anwar Ali, who has recently taken the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to court over his right to play reiterated a desire to play, saying that if he is not allowed to play in India he will try to go abroad to play football. 

“I want to play football and I will play football. If they do not let me play in India, then I will try to go abroad and play football,” he told Newsclick. 

“I never felt that I am sick or unwell and I am not, I am fine, I do not feel sick and I just want to play football and take care of family. I am the sole provider for my family, I have sisters and the responsibility of getting them married falls on my shoulders as well,” he said. 

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The AIFF after a recommendation from their medical committee asked the Indian defender to stop his training with Mohammedan Sporting (the club he had joined for the 2nd Division I-League) as he was diagnosed with a rare heart condition called apical hypercardio myopathy. The committee concluded that playing competitive football may put his life at risk. Anwar himself has also cited reports from his own doctors who say he is completely fit to play, and do not foresee any danger to his health from doing so. 

A report in the Times of India, also said that the AIFF had offered him an alternative career as a coach or scout to ensure he has a livelihood. “We are happy to look into alternative career options for Anwar. He could be involved with talent identification for youth development. We will also help fast track his coaching licenses. We will find the best option for him,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said in the report.

Anwar however clarified that no one from the federation has directly approached him or offered him any such options and if even if they do, he will not take it. “I want to play,” he said. “I haven’t even considered coaching and all for now. I’m not interested in it.”

Messi Wants Peace at Barca 

Lionel Messi told Barcelona based newspaper Sport in an interview that he wants to end the disputes he has with the Barcelona hierarchy in order to unite the club. 

"After so many disagreements, I would like to put an end to it," said Messi. "We must unite all Barcelona's people and assume that the best is yet to come."

"I take responsibility for my mistakes, that, if they existed, were only to make a better and stronger Barcelona," the Argentine star said. "I wanted to send a message to all the club members and to all the fans. If any of them is bothered for a second by something I said or did, they should never doubt that I am always thinking about what is best for the club."

"Adding passion and desire will be the only way to achieve our objectives, always united and pulling in the same direction," Messi said. Just last week the forward slammed the club on social media for the way they dealt with the departure of Luis Suarez to Atletico Madrid.

Brazilian FA Wants Europe-Based Players 

The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) wants all their Europe based players to travel to South America for World Cup qualifiers next week despite Covid-19 concerns along with risk of conflicts with the top clubs. 

While Asia and CONCACAF have postponed their qualifiers until March next year, South America has decided to go ahead. Brazil is set to face Bolivia on October 9 at Sao Paulo following which they will travel to Lima and play Peru four days later. 

However, with a high number of cases in South America, most borders between countries are closed and any exception will only be allowed by the government. 

The president of CBF, Rogerio Caboclo told Reuters that  although Major League Soccer (MLS) has raised objections, he does not expect any other issues with clubs regarding releasing players.  

“Only the MLS declared it wanted to keep the players under quarantine and so make releasing them more difficult,” he said. “No one else. The deadline for any refusal has come and gone so I want to believe that there won't be any problems.”

EPL to Pay For EFL Covid-19 Tests

The Premier League will pay for the mandatory coronavirus testing for English Football League (EFL) players involved in cup competitions this season. 

This decision comes after many discrepancies in testing regimes between the top flight and the football league clubs highlighted by the case at Leyton Orient, who only discovered they had players positive for Covid-19 after opponents Tottenham Hotspur paid for their testing prior to their Carabao Cup fixture. 

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Many clubs in the lower tiers of the English football also expressed their concerns over lack of finance and said they would be unable to cover the testing costs. 

According to the report by the Times, during the Premier League shareholders’s meeting held on Tuesday the decision on testing was taken and all 20 clubs agreed on curtailment of this season if another surge of coronavirus cases emerge and said if halt is premature than the standings could then be decided on a points per game basis. 

Stimac on Indian Players’ Progress 

Indian football team’s head coach, Igor Stimac said that while his players need some improvement in certain areas, they have been doing a good job with the possession based style of football. 

"We are really proud of the players on how they have executed their job so far. They have been doing the right job. There has been an overall improvement," Stimac said.

In an international virtual coaching conference organised by the AIFF, Stimac said that he believes that the 4-2-3-1 formation is the best for Indian football. 

"We have had to adapt to a system where players play more with the ball. We have switched to 4-2-3-1 where the game starts from the goalkeeper and the centre-backs play a major role in controlling the game,” he said.

"There are connected movements and players need to be intelligent to make quick decisions. Full-backs need to make a run forward so they find free spaces in between and hurt the opponent. They need to learn to run behind the opponent's backline. Even wingers can come inside and fullbacks go to the side-lines to utilise free space."

Stimac also said the players need to display a greater character on the pitch. "Number of passes as well as the duration of playing with the ball has gone up significantly. We are constantly working on improving the numbers and raising the bar," he said.

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