Maruful in, Lopez out
Fabio Lopez's two-and-a-half month stint with the Bangladesh national football team came to an end yesterday when the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) fired the Italian with immediate effect and named Maruful Haque as his successor.
The 42-year-old Lopez, who took over from Dutch Lodewijk De Kruif on September 10, became the latest casualty for his poor performance with a team that lost six games on the trot under his stewardship. Although Bangladesh won their final game in an invitational tournament in China yesterday, it was learnt that Lopez was not present in the dugout during the 1-0 victory against Hebei.
The termination of Lopez is the shortest ever stint for a foreign coach in charge of the Bangladesh team.
"We sat today [Tuesday] to discuss different aspects of the national team and the meeting decided to terminate the contract with the current coach Fabio Lopez and appointed renowned local coach Maruful Haque till the SAFF Championship, who will be aided by Spanish coach Gonzalo Moreno," National Teams Committee chairman and BFF vice president Kazi Nabil Ahmed told reporters after emerging from a meeting at the Gulshan residence of BFF president Kazi Salahuddin.
"Questions have been raised after the results against Tajikistan and Australia and we have taken this initiative to do well in the SAFF Championship, which is our main competition," Nabil said while explaining the reasons behind the move, without any further elaboration. It is, however, understood that the BFF was convinced Lopez's ultra-experimentations not only backfired but also had an adverse impact on the players.
And with the SAFF Championship, considered the world cup in this part of the world, only three weeks away, the BFF official believes Bangladesh can still do well in the regional football tournament under Maruful, a knowledgeable local coach with the distinction of leading top clubs to success.
“For me, it is a great honour. It is also a challenge for me to cash in on this opportunity. I know I haven't got that much time but I believe my experience of working with this group of boys at club level will be very handy. I am hopeful about doing something good in three weeks,” said Maruful, who has recently graduated as an UEFA A licensed coach.
Maruful has already earned a name for himself in domestic football. He coached Mohammedan to three trophies -- the Federation Cup twice and the Super Cup once – before helping Sheikh Russel win a treble in the 2012-13 season. He also coached Sheikh Jamal to their King's Cup triumph in Bhutan last year.