Players are paid too much: Aslam

Former national star and goal-machine Sheikh Mohammad Aslam has said that the current generation of footballers are paid much more than they are worthy of by the clubs in Bangladesh. The legendary striker, who played for Abahani for most of his career, also said the current strikers do not have the positioning sense, which is a key reason they do not get goals in international matches. He was speaking after appearing for Dhaka in the Veterans Cup Football Tournament, organized by the Sonali Otit Club at the BFF Artificial Turf yesterday.

“There is a natural instinct for strikers, which tells them where to be when the ball comes towards the box. We used to shoot from a long way outside the box. I don't see these things among the strikers of this generation,” said Aslam, who showed he still has not lost his sense of positioning and scoring skill with a wonderfully headed goal and a penalty conversion in the shootout for Dhaka.

“Only Nakib [Imtiaz Ahmed] was a real goalscorer after us. He was the top scorer for three seasons, so he had that quality. I don't see such quality among our footballers these days.

“I used to play volleyball during the off-season to make sure I could stay up for some time when trying to win an aerial ball or heading for goal. I used to cycle rickshaws to strengthen my thigh muscles. This was all about self-improvement and dedication, which is sadly not seen among the footballers these days. I think the players are overpaid. The wages they are paid does not reflect their performance,” he added.

Apart from Aslam, the final of the 12-team tournament was participated by a number of former star players of the national team. Chittagong came back from two goals down to take the tie into shootouts, where they nicked the encounter with a 4-3 victory.

Although his team lost the final, Aslam bagged the most valuable player of the tournament award.