Ashfaq the focus as New Radiant arrive

Maldives Premier League champions New Radiant Sports Club arrived in Dhaka yesterday to play their AFC Cup match against Bangladesh Premier League champions Abahani, with all the focus on star Maldivian forward Ali Ashfaq.

The 33-year-old is a household name in South Asian football due to his magical dribbling skills and prolific scoring record. He has, on many occasions, caused misery to the Bangladesh national team, including during the group stage matches of the 2011 SAFF Championship and 2015 SAFF Championship, with the ace forward scoring one apiece as Maldives won 3-1 on both occasions.

Ashfaq is in Bangladesh for the first time since the 2010 SA Games in Dhaka where he had played as one of three senior players in the U-23 sides and guided his side to a third-place finish. The previous year, Ashfaq's Maldives became runners-up in the SAFF Championship, losing to India on penalties in the final where the vaunted striker squandered a spot-kick.

The contingent of New Radiant SC checked in at the Fars Hotel yesterday afternoon, three days ahead of their match against Abahani.  Ashfaq was however not interested to talk to media due to fatigue, but he was eventually cajoled into making some comments.

When asked about his memory of the 2009 SAFF Championship final, Ashfaq gave a smile and reminded the media that it was not only him but also his teammate Tareq who had missed from the spot.

“It is all about diet, hard work and disciplined life,” replied Ashfaq when asked about his consistent performance at the age of 33 even though he initially made a gesture to hint that his performance is going downhill.

Ashfaq informed that he has no idea of the current Bangladesh football because he was out of action for nearly eight months due to a knee surgery and joined Maldives' most successful club in the mid-term transfer window in July last year.     

When asked if he would be here again in September as part of the Maldives team for the SAFF Championship, Ashfaq said, “Perhaps I have played my last international match against Bhutan in the Asian Cup Qualifiers. At the moment I am not sure whether I will come to Dhaka for the SAFF Championship.”

Whether or not he is coming in September, the illustrious striker will definitely trouble Abahani in the March 7 fixture. However, the Spanish coach of the team, Oscar Bruzon, informed that Ashfaq is not the only threat as there are four foreign players in the side including three Spaniards and one Afghan.

“He is a player of international class. He is a very well known player in Asia, so there is no need to introduce Ali Ashfaq. He is one of our key players but we also have some other very good players in the squad,” said Oscar, who guided New Radiant SC to a treble last season and is now guiding the club in the Male League, where his side played two matches in the last seven days.

“We haven't prepared for this match but we came here after playing a tough match against Maziya. We will have tactical training in the coming days for the Abahani match,” Oscar said, adding that they arrived here three days ahead of the game to get used to the conditions as well as the pitch as they usually play on Astroturf back in Maldives.