Bangabandhu SAFF Championship
Hosts look to history
(Clockwise from Top) Bangladesh captain Aminul Haque (L) shakes hands with his Indian counterpart Sushil Singh at the Sonargaon hotel yesterday, on the eve of their mouth watering second semifinal of the SAFF Championship at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today. India's master tactician Sukhvinder Singh makes a point to his young charges during a training session at the Abahani ground. Bangladesh's leading marksman Enamul Haque (sitting) stretches as coach Shahidur Rahman Shanto (on his left) looks on during the morning practice at the BUET ground. Photos: Anisur Rahman
Bangladesh will be looking for a repeat of 2003 when the hosts take on India in the second semifinal of the Bangabandhu sixth SAFF Championship at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today. On way to lifting their maiden title of the regional football extravaganza, Bangladesh had beaten India 1-0 in the semis to reach the final of the third SAFF Championship at the same ground in 2003. And the same rivals, India, are yet again the opponents in the same stage when the hosts are desperately looking for the regionally coveted title for the second time. However, this time Bangladesh will face an Indian side, mostly comprised of Under-23 players who also lack preparation for the championship. For the hosts, unlike 2003, there is no inspirational playmaker in Arman Mia, a midfield dynamo in Motiur Munna, or a sharp striking duo like Alfaz Ahmed and Rokonuzzaman Khanchan. This time, it is team spirit that is spurring the players on to get success in the penultimate hurdle. "After the win against Sri Lanka, the morale of the players is very high and they are now a unit, even the players of the reserve bench are cheering them up tremendously," Bangladesh coach Shahidur Rahman Shantoo said. "This sort of unity creates team's spirit, which is now the key to our success." The Bangladesh coach prefers regards the Indian side as challengers rather than thinking of them as a second-string squad. "It is no matter who is coming to play against us in the semis. The important thing is the match and our target is to win the match to go through to the final," said Shantoo adding that he had found out some weak points of India and would try to attack those areas. Bangladesh captain Aminul Haque is also upbeat about the match and wants to overcome their second phase to go into the third phase the final. "We all are ready and committed to win the match. We have already achieved our first part of qualifying for the semis and all are now concentrating on getting past the second part of the semifinal and we are hoping to play the third part, the final, accordingly," said Haque. Aminul, however, was a bit worried over his team's consistency in the meet. "We have proved the ability we have against Sri Lanka in our last match, but we have a problem of consistency what we failed to put up against Pakistan after a good start against Bhutan. We, however, talked to each other regarding this and it seems to me that we all will be able to carry our previous match's consistency into the semifinal," said the goalkeeper, who was also a part of Bangladesh's 2003 title triumph. Nevertheless, Bangladesh will be relying on striking duo Zahid Hasan Emily and Enamul Haq, who found the back of the opponents net twice each against Bhutan and Sri Lanka to top the lists of scorers. "Who doesn't want to score in every match? As a striker I am no exception and I will try my best," said Enamul, who had earlier declared that he would like to be the top scorer of the tournament. On the other hand, India coach Sukhvinder Singh believes that the correct game plan will play a key role in deciding the match though the home side will be enjoying the advantage of familiar environment and crowd. "Facing the hosts we are not under pressure as all teams are equal, but you can't ignore the home advantage and home crowd as the situation is not similar to our home. I think the game plan will play a role in deciding the match," said Singh, whose side rested six players against Maldives in their last group match. Singh's main concern is that he is likely to miss the services of midfielders Jagpreet Singh and Manish Maathani. "We had a lack of preparation, but this area is now covered by playing three matches, but the injury is the part with Jagpreet and Manish handicapped and we are hoping to field four out of six who did not play against Maldives versus Bangladesh. I believe the boys are ready to take the challenge," said Singh. Singh also rated the opponents highly. "We respect Bangladesh, who have a balanced good side. They can score and defend it well, but we are also a side capable of fighting against them." Bangladesh coach Shahidur Rahman Shantoo hinted that they might stick to their winning combination in the semfinal clash.
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