New Delhi: At a time when Indian football is once again struck with the club versus country controversy, Delhi Dynamos's Brazilian manager cum marquee player, Roberto Carlos, said he had no problem releasing footballers for the national team.
"The (Indian team) players who play for the Dynamos will have to go for the national squad," the Brazilian legend said in the capital, on Wednesday.
"I will never say no to the national squad... the most important thing for a player is to get into the national team. In Delhi, there are three players of the national team... Robin (Singh), Shehnaz (Singh) and Francis (Fernandes). They have to go," Carlos added.
While the Indian Super League (ISL) kicks off at Chennai with the match between Atletico de Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC on October 3, India play Turkmenistan in the World Cup qualifiers in the away match on October 8, followed by the match against Oman in Muscat on October 13.
National coach Stephen Constantine wanted to hold a camp from September 28 but the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has overruled him saying the ISL franchises were free to release players four days before the match as per the Fifa rule.
While the AIFF sources claimed the ISL authorities wanted the Indian team players to play the October 4 match between Delhi Dynamos and Goa FC before leaving for Turkmenistan, Carlos refused to be dragged into the controversy.
"It is for the national coach to answer to this query," he said. "This is a problem between the coach and the federation. I can only talk about my team," said the winner of 2002 World Cup. Confident that national team regular Robin Singh would start in the first eleven for Dynamos, Carlos said he found the Indian players good. "The only thing is the foreign players here will teach the Indian players how to have the mentality of a winner... Something they can carry to the national team.
"Having played in the ISL, Indian players can help India improve their Fifa ranking to 80 or 90. That's why I have brought these foreign players to teach the Indians the tactics. To get there, it is not enough to be good. You have to win and win," Carlos said.
