Former Croatia World Cupper and their ex-manager Igor Stimac is set to be appointed as head coach of the Indian national football team. The technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) recommended the Croat’s name on Thursday for the top job.

“Igor has a good profile. An impressive CV… The technical director (Doru Isac) too looked quite impressed with him.

“Besides, he has good knowledge of Indian football and more importantly, he follows it well and has keen interest on it… Even knows the names of some of our players,” AIFF technical committee chairman Shyam Thapa said on Thursday.

An official announcement from the national federation is yet to be made, though.

Shyam said Stimac, who will be replacing Stephen Constantine, is likely to take charge soon as India will be participating in the King’s Cup in Thailand that starts next month. “He has to join very soon as the team participates in the tournament in Thailand, which starts early next month,” Shyam said.

As for the contract with Stimac, Shyam added: “He’s mostly likely to be given a contract of three to four years. The final decision on this matter, though, will be taken by the AIFF.”

Stimac was the only candidate who turned up in person for the interview. Being a defender during his playing days, he represented Croatia in 53 matches, scoring two goals.

As manager, he was in charge of Croatia from 2012 to 2013. He was appointed in July 2012 after the departure of Slaven Bilic.

“Anything else couldn’t have been better for India. Igor is someone who was part of the Croatia team that played in the 1998 World Cup and surprised the football world by clinching the bronze medal. And now Croatia are one of the top-ranked teams in world football,” said another technical committee member.