Lopez starts strong
Newly-appointed coach Fabio Lopez had enjoyed his first day under a scorching summer sun at the artificial turf of the BFF House, where he got the first glimpse of his national players in business yesterday.
He had assessed 35 players from the preliminary list of 41, who underwent some training drills under fitness coach Angelo Pavia and assistant coach Costantino Zuccarini, the other two Italians who arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday evening. Lopez then watched from the sidelines as the players played 20-minute games among themselves. And of course, those games were played in line with the new coach's instructions.
"We have just started training in order to scout the players from the given 41. We focused on their technical skills and the tactical awareness of the players on the first day. We will run this scouting programme for three to four days though it is not enough time to choose the players because I am new. However I will take help from [Saiful Bari] Titu and [Masud Parvez] Kaiser," said Lopez reiterating that he would only pick players who would perform on the pitch regardless of their previous profile.
He will trim the side to 23 by the end of the short programme.
Defenders Mohammad Linkon and Kesto Kumar left the camp due to injuries, while injured midfielders Shahedul Alam Shahed and Hemanta Vincent Biswas sought a couple of days to join. Midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan is in Denmark and midfielder Masuk Mia Johnny has been in the preparation camp of the national U-19 team.
"The injured players will join the camp after recovering and they will stay with the 23-man final team if they are ready to play and deserving," said Lopez. "The playing eleven of the national team must comprise of players who play for the starting eleven of their clubs. I can't allow any player in the starting eleven, who sits on their club's bench," he added.
When his attention was drawn to the group of the SAFF Championship, he admitted that Bangladesh have been placed in the stronger of the two groups.
"It's a strong group where every match will be difficult. But I am not scared," he concluded.
Comments