The national hockey team will try to adopt three different formations to help take on the strongest sides at the Asia Cup in Malaysia, coach Naveed Alam said on Friday.
Naveed was confident he could complete 70% of his preparation before the tournament and was hopeful that his team could beat strong teams like Japan, South Korea and hosts Malaysia.
‘Bangladesh used only one formation in the past, but I am trying to get the players familiar with two more formations so they can perform neck-and-neck with strong opposition,’ said Naveed, 17 days into his practice camp with the national side.
Naveed took over the team on July 2 and already knew about the team’s ambitions. Bangladesh managed sixth place at the last Asia Cup four years ago by beating Oman and Chinese Taipei. They also beat the same two teams at last year’s AHF Cup in Singapore to clinch the title.
Bangladesh now aims to secure the fifth place in the Asia Cup and to reach that target Naveed knows Bangladesh have to beat some powerful sides. That is why Naveed wants to move away from a 4-3-3 formation and adopt 2-2-3-1-2 and 3-1-2-3-1 formations, geared more towards counter-attacking than other combinations.
‘The world of hockey now plays with this type of attacking formation to keep the defense strong and still use the full pitch with attacking intent,’ explained Naveed.
Naveed wants to compact his midfield and he wants to see his team start the attack as a unit from the midfield.
Bangladesh scored only two goals at the 2009 Asia Cup, conceding 32. The defense was exposed again in the second round of the World Hockey League, where Bangladesh started the game with attacking intent and scored a goal, but eventually conceded many times.
‘We will play aggressively against Oman and Taipei, but when we face strong opponents we have to take precautions first and then think about attack,’ said Mahbub Harun, Naveed’s assistant coach, adding, ‘We want another 15 days to adopt
Naveed’s plans and I am hopeful that it will be useful for the team in the Asia Cup.’
Bangladesh will start their Asia Cup campaign by facing group B contender South Korea on August 25 before facing Oman the next day. Their last group match will be against India on August 28.
-With New Age input
