Expatriate footballers Jamal Bhuiyan and Anando Rahman arrived in Dhaka on Sunday and straightaway joined the national team camp at the Bangladesh Football Federation premises.
Denmark-based midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan and Australia-based midfielder Anando Rahman were selected for the national team trials after contact with Dutch assistant coach Rene Koster.
This is for the second time that Jamal has undertaken a national team trial after he failed to impress in the first one three years ago, just before the 2014 FIFA World Cup pre-qualifiers got underway.
He was also overlooked as he did not have a Bangladeshi passport.
Jamal managed his Bangladeshi passport then and there and is now desperately eyeing to represent Bangladesh.
Jamal is currently employed by Danish second tier team, Hellerup Bold Klub (HIK) after spending eight months in the Philippines where he carried out some school work besides playing football.
‘Rene [Koster] called me, I don’t know how, maybe he got my mail [address] from one of you [media]. Spoke to him and he said I should come. He wanted to visit me in Denmark and see me play but he couldn’t make it because he had something else to do.
We agreed that he would watch two matches but he couldn’t come,’ said the 23-year old midfielder on Sunday.
Jamal admitted he has regular contact with Atiqur Rahman Meshu, national team defender and received regular information about Bangladesh football but he also mentioned that there are differences between Bangladesh and Danish football.
‘I have seen a little bit of the Bangladesh [Premier] League. Last time when I was here I saw a match and it’s very hard in Bangladesh. The game also became very slow. The top league in Denmark is maybe ten times better than Bangladesh,’ he added.
Jamal, however, wants to ensure a place in the national team.
‘I just want to play for the Bangladesh national team. I think all footballers dream to play for the country. That’s my dream.’
He wants to forget the previous memory in 2011 when he was overlooked by the local coaches.
‘I played one bad training [session] and everybody was like “he can’t play here, it’s too hard for him”. It was my first time I trained here in Bangladesh. I don’t care. If I know I’m good, I’m good,’ said a confident Jamal.
Meanwhile, Anando Rahman left Bangladesh with his family to reside in Australia when he was only one.
This is the fourth time he came to his motherland and he also expressed his desire of playing for Bangladesh.
Anando was initially picked by Koster after he contacted the Dutch assistant coach via e-mail.
‘I saw the contact address of Rene on the Bangladesh football website and contacted with him. I sent a video and some pictures,’ said Anando, who is playing for Sydney University.
‘I played about 24 games for Sydney Uni. I scored nine goals and [made] 12 assists,’ said the 20-year old student of Business Studies.
‘I want to represent my country. I love football and it was always my dream to represent Bangladesh. ‘Since our ranking [152nd] is low I want to see them in the World Cup. So I want to try to do my best,’ Anando told
reporters after arriving at the BFF House on Sunday.
He came to know about the strength of the national team after observing some clippings of the SAFF Football Championship which was held in Delhi two years ago.
‘It’s all about belief. I believe in my ability and I can make it into the eleven and if I do it, I will do my best for my country,’ Anando added.
Anando followed some Bangladeshi players over the internet and he admitted to being impressed by the performance of Zahid Hasan Ameli, experienced national team forward.
‘Ameli is a good stiker. I saw him play through youtube,’ he said.
-With New Age input
