Mission Sweden for BFF?

So far seven expatriate footballers have come from different parts of the world for a trial with the Bangladesh national team over the last three years. However, apart from Jamal Bhuiyan -- who came from former Denmark but failed to impress in his first trial in 2011 before getting into the team in his second attempt two years later – none have managed to stake a claim in the side.

Australia-based Ananda Rahman, USA-based Farhan Khan, UK-based Rizwan Ahmed and Ali Akmal came of their own accord but failed to impress former coach Lodewijk de Kruif, who however gave a chance to Germany-based midfielder Reasat Islam in an international friendly earlier this year before dispatching him.

The latest in this line, Joseph Nur Rahman, is an attacking midfielder playing in the fifth division in Sweden, and has just ended a trial with the national team. The 28-year-old midfielder is believed to be better than the others who tried previously, according to assessment of the coaches and the players of the national team.

“Whatever I have seen in training, it seemed to me that he (Joseph) is a good player with good technique. He has good capacity of dribbling and ball distribution. He also has good defending skills as well, which I think is better than that of Jamal [Bhuiyan],” said Bangladesh captain Mamunul Islam about the Swede.

The midfielder, however, has been asked to go back to Sweden to work on his fitness, and has been told he might be called up ahead of the camp for the SAFF Championship in December.

Jamal, who is now a regular feature in the national team and plays for Sheikh Jamal DC, faced similar problems with fitness and the weather. But the defensive midfielder managed to overcome those hurdles, which could be a silver lining for Joseph. Players like Joseph might not get into the starting eleven at the moment, but could be a useful addition to the team, which often suffers from the lack of a decent reserve bench.

However, what is more encouraging is the revelation from Joseph that there are at least 30 Bangladeshi expatriate footballers in his locality including a few who are even better than him.

Bangladesh Football Federation president, Kazi Salahuddin, has taken notice of Joseph's will to prove his worth and his connections with the other Sweden-based footballers.

“I read about Joseph in the newspapers and I don't have anything to say if he has lack of fitness. However, I will talk to Shohag [the general secretary] and also sit with him [Joseph],” said Salahuddin, adding: “If there are other Bangladeshi footballers in Sweden, I will call them up for a trial or send my coaching staff to Sweden to have a look at them.”