Wasim's new challenge

Brothers coach Wasim (No. 14) leads the players in a jogging session during yesterday's practice at the club ground in Gopibagh.Photo: STAR

Great footballers always do not make a great coach. Some have proved this notion wrong and Khandoker Wasim Iqbal wants to be one of them when the Federation Cup finals begin next month.
The winger who dominated the domestic football scene in the 80s in the colours of Brothers Union with his deft dodges, speed, lethal crosses and often stunning goals, has now taken up the new challenge to prepare the same team -- also the defending Federation Cup champions -- for the coming season.
Wasim, arguably the best right-winger the country has ever produced, believes that there is no limit to learning.
"I have seen the seniors trying to do something new even in the latter stage of their careers and have taken lessons from them. I believe there are many areas to work on as a coach and my experience as a player would help the new generation," Wasim told The Daily Star yesterday.
Wasim, who played for Brothers from 1979 to 1992 excepting spending two years -- 1989 and 1990 -- at Abahani, has taken over the Oranges with a little background of coaching -- he has trained 8-12 year-olds for the club -- but believes this is not a barrier.
"I trained basics to the kids but my job here is different. Here I have to build stamina and combine between matured players. The main factor for a coach is to teach them how to take care of different situations in a match, read the opponents and prepare the strategy. I feel I know these areas well," said the 46-year-old admitting that he might have never had won a league trophy unless making the move to Abahani.
"We have got a good team considering local collection and we have enough backup players for each position. It would make the players very competitive to win a place in the eleven. Still I would have loved to have more in the striking zone.
"If my opponents collect better finishers from abroad, we also have to do so. In the recent past, I have seen foreign strikers making the difference.
"With the squad I have trained for the last 12 days, I feel we can go far and Brothers will not leave any stones unturned in a bid to reach the final and I am trying my best to prepare them. We would need a bit of luck though," he added.
Wasim admitted the time for preparing players, who have not played much competitive football in one year, is not enough.
"It's a problem for all the coaches and I would consider my players' fitness level above average. If any injuries do not bother us, we will be defending the cup with all our strength and talent. I am taking this tournament very seriously although the main target would be the B. League."
Commenting on the extinct species of wingers in modern day football, the former Bangladesh international said the 'defensive' attitude has led a job of specialists to be filled in by makeshifts as playing 4-2-4 or even 4-3-3 are not realistic these days.
"Everyone prefers 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 now. But I am going to use wingers as I have two talented players in Abdullah Parvez and Zahid Hossain. I have talked with them personally and if Parvez, now 25, becomes serious about his career, he could become the best in the country as he has yet to reach his pick.
"Not only the country or Brothers but also he will gain from it. I believe players like them should focus more on individual trainings to hone their skill."
When asked about the 1985 Premier League classic between Abahani and Brothers that latter lost 3-2 to serve the title in a platter to their rivals, Wasim said he regrets missing a sitter to this day.
"We were leading 2-0 and I missed a one on one chance that would have made it 3-0. I want to forget that day but everyone reminds me of it," he said with a bitter smile.
Wasim, who won Federation Cup, DMFA Cup and the Aga Khan Gold Cup with the Oranges, said he has taken the job of a top team coach at a time when football in the country is hoping for a boost under new leadership.
"So far, the moves the federation has taken impress me. We need to go a long way but we can dream of something from here. I take it as a great challenge and want to serve the game as much as I can."
SQUAD
Zia, MN Shakil, Badal, Ariful, Mishu, Arup, Ashraful, Liton Khan, Shuvra, Masud Rana, Shakil, Matiur Munna, Zahid, Parvez, Roni Islam, Akramuzzaman Liton, Rikto, Zuku, Liton, Farhad, Tapu and Manju.