Blatter impressed by football heritage

“Bangladesh football in images”, a photo exhibition inaugurated by FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter at the BFF House yesterday and organised jointly by Bangladesh Sports Press Association (BSPA) and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), took guests, former footballers and sports journalists back to the golden period of Bangladesh football.
Special and emotional moments in the country's football dating from post-independence to the present day were displayed along with a rare group photo of Bangladesh's first ever national football team.
Some photos show excited crowds -- a fanciful notion today -- hazarding the climb to the torch on top of the Bangabandhu National Stadium for a chance to watch the two most popular sides and perennial rivals Abahani and Mohammedan play.
Even the scene of wounded fans lying on the pitch after the clash between the spectators of a match between Mohammed and Abahani reminded everyone of how crazy spectators were about their beloved game.
Looking at a photo which showed spectators trying to climb over the fence after an Abahani-Mohammedan match, Blatter commented that football in Bangladesh was not only joyous it had also much excitement and had everything that it needed to prosper.
The inclusion of the images of Kazi Salahuddin's farewell match, Salam Murshedy's celebration of goals, the first AFC Challenge Cup inauguration by Blatter, all-time great French footballer Zinedine Zidane playing with children, the celebration of the magical Lionel Messi, memorable moments of women's football, the national team's moment of victory over Lebanon and Pakistan during the World Cup qualifiers lit up the exhibition.
After inaugurating the exhibition that was arranged to mark BSPA's golden jubilee celebration, Blatter said, “It is a historical exhibition of football and of the history of football and it is tremendous. I congratulate the sports journalists who took such initiatives and we hope to keep writing on football.”