Published on 12:00 AM, January 01, 2010

Djordjevic is BFF's choice

The National Team Management Committee (NTMC) has nominated the Bangladesh Football Federation to appoint Serbian Zoran Djordjevic as the head coach of the U-23 national team for the upcoming South Asian Games' football event and the AFC Challenge Cup final round in February in Sri Lanka.
Zoran, who underwent an interview with BFF high-ups earlier last month and watched the performance of the national team during the SAFF Championship, is expected to come to Dhaka on January 4 along with two assistant coaches, said Sayeed Hasan Kanon after the meeting at the BFF House yesterday.
The 57-year old Serbian has experience of coaching Yemen national football team and Sudan national football team apart from the various clubs of Middle East. Zoran Djordjevic guided Churchill Brothers SC to the I-League title in 2008-2009, the first foreign coach to achieve the feat. It was Churchill's first league title too.
“We will initially pick a 30-member team to hand it to Zoran, who will later finalise his squad for the SA Games,” said Kanon adding that the camp of the national team would start from January 15.
Ponir will be appointed as a goalkeeper coach while Hasanuzzaman Bablu has been recommended as manager of the team.
The NTMC also formed a review committee headed by Imtiaz Sultan Johnny to evaluate failures of the national team in SAFF Championship and the Under-19 side in AFC U-19 Qualifiers.
The committee also consisting of former national booters Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, Sayeed Hasan Kanon, Golam Rabanni Helal and Khurshid Alam Babul has been asked to submit their report by January 10.
The national team coached by interim coach Shahidur Rahman Shantoo was eliminated from the semifinal of the SAFF Championship while the national guided by Shafiqul Islam Manik U-19 team won only one match they played in Malaysia.
“In past, we never reviewed the reports of the coaches after the disappointing performance of the national team as well as aged-grouped teams, but this time we decided to evaluate the coaches' reports and recommend what steps should take to get the success in various tournament,” said Kanon.