Steven Dias takes up coaching role

The former city-based international player opens an academy at Karnataka Sporting Association ground with former state skippers Santosh Koli and Vijith Shetty. The attacking midfielder may announce his retirement soon as a player.

Steven Dias hasn’t hanged up his boots officially yet, but the former India international has already made up his mind to take up  a full-time coaching role. The 33-year-old is starting Ambitious Football Academy at Karnataka Sporting Association (KSA) football ground to nurture young kids.

“At the moment I am stuck, there is a little confusion whether to go for full-time coaching or play also. But I always wanted to do coaching and stay connected with football. I can’t see myself doing any other job,” he said.

“Since my last I-League team Mumbai FC got closed down, I want to do full-time coaching now. I may soon announce my retirement from playing football. I was already doing the coaching at Don Bosco Technical Institute, Kurla (near his residence). We also want to make it a permanent fixture there,” Dias added.

The attacking midfielder praised KSA president P.V. Shetty for agreeing to set up the academy on short notice. “I started my career after playing at this ground. This club always supported me. We came to sir and he readily agreed,” he said about Shetty, who holds senior posts in the Mumbai Cricket Association and Mumbai District Football Association.

The 33-year-old was a regular in the senior Indian team during his prime and ended up with 51 caps for India. But after him no player from Mumbai has been a consistent performer in the senior Indian team.

“When I was playing, we had the likes of Abhishek Yadav and myself regular there. There were a few more like Raju Gaikwad. Now you don’t have any players from Mumbai because there is no I-League club left in city now. If a player wants to prove, he has no platform,” Dias reasoned.

To change that, Dias has teamed up with his former Air India team-mates Santosh Koli and Vijith Shetty who both have led the state team previously in the Santosh Trophy. The trio want to cash in on the success of Fifa -U17 World Cup in India and the city. “The World Cup was a success, our team played well and the interest in football is growing. Parents are now sending the kids on regular basis. To cash in on the momentum we have to start grassroots academies like that. Mumbai has a lot of talent but they need proper training and opportunity. We want give that in the heart of the city,” he said. Dias recalled his trip with the Indian team to Portugal in 2010, which made him interested in coaching kids. “When I was in Sporting Lisbon, I realised how professional they are. Even 3-4 year kids are doing some skills. We have a workshop on December 2 and 3 where we want to scout talent. We will train and guide them properly and hopefully we will find an Indian player,” he said.

With not much infrastructure available at this juncture to match professional clubs, Dias wants to focus on basics. “We want to concentrate on U-8 boys and teach them basics. I want to work on individual players, and make them specialists in different positions. I want to put them in pressure situations and teach them how to come out of it,” he added.

Already AFC ‘B’ License holder Dias had undergone an AFC ‘A’ license course in Kolkata in the middle of this year along with his former Indian team-mates but couldn’t clear it in his first attempt. That hasn’t stopped his coaching ambitions.

“Initially we will take 20 kids in the age group of U-8, U-12, U-15 and U-18. But if the response is great we can take more and plan accordingly. The aim is to eventually play in the I-League junior tournaments. We also plan to start a girl’s team. The academy will run throughout the year and thrice a week initially,” he added.