Sacked former national coach Lodewijk de Kruif may return to helm of Bangladesh national team for the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, said a top official of the Bangladesh Football Federation on Friday. BFF president Kazi Salahuddin said they are seriously thinking of re-appointing Dutchman Kruif for a brief period of one month before the Bangabandhu Cup, which gets underway on January 16.
Six teams, including hosts Bangladesh, will play in the Bangabandhu Cup which will be held concurrently in Dhaka and Sylhet from January 16-27.
BFF move for Kruif came after the interim coach Saiful Bari Titu recently requested to look for his replacement.
‘We need a foreign coach for the national team at that moment,’ Salahuddin told reporters at his office.
‘We are thinking of Kruif, who knows Bangladesh team very well. There is a chance that we will re-appoint him for a short period for the Bangabandhu Gold Cup though nothing has been finalised yet.
‘If we bring a new coach at the moment, he needs at least 15 days to know the team but we don’t have that much time in our hand. The tournament is looming large, so we need to make a decision quickly. We are looking for Kruif as he already knows the team,’ said Salahuddin.
Earlier on October 18, the BFF has terminated the contracts of Kruif and his assistant Rene Koster after they threatened to take the matter of their unpaid wages to FIFA.
BFF made a counter allegation accusing them of negligence of duties before they were abruptly dismissed.
Both parties reached an amicable solution in the end leaving the door open for a possible return.
Tabith Awal, a member of the national team committee and a BFF vice-president, was given the job of communicating with Kruif for a brief stint.
‘Nothing has been finalised but I would say there is a good chance of bringing him back for a month,’ he said.
It was learnt that BFF still could not pay the salaries of four months it owed to Kruif when he left. Officials said they are trying to gather a fund to complete the payment of the unpaid wages within 15 days.
Under the guidance of Kruif, Bangladesh national and Under-23 team played 12 international matches winning four, drawing two and losing six.
-With New Age input
