GUWAHATI, May 22 � The chief coach of the Indian U-17 football team Nicolai Adam of Germany is in the city to spot talented players from Assam for the Indian U-17 World Cup squad.
Adam, along with his deputy Elibar Ibrahimov and a coach from Manipur Pitam Singh are in the city and will spot talent from a batch of 50 youngsters selected by the Assam Football Association (AFA).
AFA secretary Ankur Dutta informed that about 150 players from all over the State have arrived here and after a preliminary selection at Sarusajai sports complex here they will select 50 and from this batch Adam and his team will pick players for the national camp.
Addressing the media today, Adam said they have already visited States like Goa, Kerala, Jharkhand and will visit all the States in search of talents for the Indian U-17 World Cup team camp. From here they will proceed to Mizoram and from there to Manipur.
Adam said it will a very tough job for them to prepare a strong team. �As the host nation, India must do well in the U-17 World Cup. But the standard of the other nations are quite high, so we need a team which can compete with the other national teams�, said the chief coach. Adam, an UEFA Pro Licence holder, who was working as the head coach of the Azerbaijan U-19 national team, believes that India has talent but they have to choose players who have the ability to play aggressive and attacking game. He also stressed on international exposure trips for the Indian U-17 team so that players can gather experience of playing with quality players. The coaches will stay here till May 24.