Seasoned Saintfiet and his three goals
43-year-old Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet flew in yesterday to hold discussions with the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) over the post of head coach for the national team.
The UEFA pro-licensed coach has a rich coaching career so far, guiding six national teams of Togo, Malawi, Yemen, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Namibia, while also having a stint with the Qatar Under-17 team during the age-level World Cup. Apart from that he has also acted as the technical director of the Nigerian Football Federation and was head coach of numerous clubs in South Africa, Tanzania, Belgium, Finland, Jordan and Qatar.
“Let me clarify that I have yet to speak with anyone about the contract. I'm here today to watch some matches of the tournament [Federation Cup]. I will talk to the BFF president about football and then I might have an opportunity to come here as the national team's coach. It is too early to say anything. I am an experienced coach and I like Bangladesh football, which is why I am here. At the moment, the option is open,” Saintfiet said at the Bangabandhu National Stadium before the start of the Federation Cup semifinal between Arambagh KS and Team BJMC.
BFF president Kazi Salahuddin echoed Saintfiet's sentiments:
“He is a good coach and he has guided different national teams. He also guided Qatar in the U-17 World Cup. I have just flown him in to have a look at the domestic football matches. I will talk to him and If everything goes right and there is similarity of thoughts between us, then there is a positive chance to appoint him though no commitments have been made,” said BFF president Kazi Salahuddin.
However, there is no rush for the pair to meet as Sainfiet is going to stay here for a week. He plans to meet with the BFF boss and share his thoughts after watching both semifinals of the Federation Cup.
“If I am appointed as head coach of Bangladesh, then I will set three goals -- two for the short-term and one for the long-term. Firstly, I want Bangladesh to qualify for the Asian Cup Qualifiers by defeating Bhutan in September and October. Then I want to produce a good result in the SAFF Championship. The third goal is to improve the standard of Bangladesh football and extend my help to age-level teams,” said Saintfiet, who is well aware of Bangladesh's fortunes on the international stage, mentioning that they failed to impress in the last three SAFF Championships, despite being champions in 2003.
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