The national soccer federation has hired a Dutch coach to make its team fit and insistent.

His first game as Dutch coach was on 27 March 1974, in a 1-1 draw against Austria.

The 49-year-old's appointment is the fourth Dutch coach to be involved in Indian football and only the second at club-level.

"I think the Dutch coach has a good sense of humour - there is no chance," he said.

At the age of 17, after a conflict with the Dutch national coach he decided to move to Austria, to join the Austrian national team.

"The players who replaced them did a good job," said Guus Hiddink, the Dutch coach.

To this day he remains the Dutch national coach with the most victories.

Any day now, Cruyff is expected to be named the Dutch coach for 1994.

"In the second half, we played football only 20 or 25 minutes out of 45," said Marco van Basten, the Dutch coach.

Even with the Dutch coach, some time passed before he advanced to become the main forward.