India play five-time World Cup winners Brazil in an international friendly at the Salt Lake Stadium on October 3 and for that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided to pull out of the Fifa Asean Cup to be held in Indonesia in September-October.
The move has sparked a debate with Bhaichung Bhutia, the former India captain and member of the AIFF executive committee, blasting the federation brass for giving too much importance to the friendly and skipping the tournament.
Antonio Lopez Habas, though, is absolutely fine with the match.
“I think playing against Brazil is a very good idea from a sporting perspective,” Habas, the East Bengal coach, told The Telegraph from Madrid in the early hours of Wednesday (IST).
“During all the years I have been in India, there has often been a tendency to look for opponents of a similar or lower international level. I think that is a big mistake.”
This is in sync with what the AIFF thinks. The federation felt that India need to look beyond playing against teams like Malaysia and Singapore, against whom they have crossed swords in recent times.
“In my opinion, you need to play against lower-ranked teams, but you also need to test yourself against opponents of a much higher footballing level. Competition shows you exactly where your starting point is. And from that comparison comes growth,” the Spaniard signed off.