After the successful completion of the Argentina-Nigeria match in Dhaka, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has now sets its sights on bringing English Premier League champions Manchester United and Diego Maradona’s Al Wasl FC of UAE to the city next year. “If I am elected again in next year’s election, then I will try to bring ... Read more
Sports
Sakib’s sacking surprises Law
Bangladesh coach Stuart Law said he was surprised to see Sakib al Hasan being sacked as captain but hoped the decision would not hamper progress of the national team. Speaking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday after the first practice session of the Tigers ahead of the home series against West Indies, ... Read more
Messi, Mikel bid bye
Nazia of Banani could not believe her own eyes as she met Lionel Messi in person on Tuesday night at the Ruposhi Bangla hotel’s lobby. The Argentina captain, who is usually very shy, was in jovial and friendly mood after he guided his side to victory over Nigeria. Some twenty to twenty-five fans, mostly young, ... Read more
A question of culpability
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) took a major decision at a time when all the focus was on magical Lionel Messi and Co. It was a bolt from the blue when the game’s governing body on last Monday announced after the directors’ meeting that they removed Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal from their posts ... Read more
Mahmudullah, Rahim set for captaincy battle
BCB names teams for Challenge Cup The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Wednesday named the national squad for the upcoming Challenge Cup one-day without appointing a captain. Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, widely viewed as the frontrunner to succeed Sakib al Hasan as Tigers’ captain, is expected to lead the side in the tournament that will also feature ... Read more
Messi rocks big bowl
Lionel Messi dazzled in an otherwise under-whelming Argentina performance which still proved enough to negotiate an ultimately comfortable 3-1 victory over Nigeria in their international friendly match held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) in Dhaka yesterday. Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain claimed two of the goals, at least one of which was
Messi says…
“Se grande problemo.” Lionel Messi uttered the phrase on way to his room after having lunch on the ground floor at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel yesterday as the enthusiastic fans, photographers and cameramen gathered to capture his photo whenever he is seen in the lobby. The sensational Messi’s conversation with his teammates was interpreted by ... Read more
Messi! Messi!! Messi!!!
Fans, players and organisers alike were awestruck by the sight of the inimitableLionel Messi as the two-time world player of the year set foot on Bangladeshi soil with his Argentina team on Monday. The magical marksman was received with more than a dozen garlands at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as he made his way ... Read more
“Messi, Messi”
Lionel Messi put the ball down patiently, before taking three marked steps back. He wiped his brow and eyed the mass of players lined up jostling for position inside the penalty area a few yards away. He took a deep breath and around him, the ten thousand strong crowd at the Bangabandhu National Stadium all ... Read more
Messi mania grips Dhaka
The look of pure unadulterated joy in Mirza Ahmad’s face said it all. “Can I hug you? Can I?” he asked repeatedly to the beefy Argentinean team member who had kindly volunteered to reward Mirza’s vigil by getting superstar Lionel Messi to sign Mirza’s Argentina shirt. Mirza was the highlight of the fifty odd brave ... Read more
Sacked Sakib feels no regret
Deposed national cricket captain Sakib al Hasan said that he harboured mixed feelings about the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision to strip him of the captaincy on Monday. The BCB sprang a huge surprise when they axed Sakib, vice captain Tamim Iqbal and manager Tanjeeb Ahsan Saad after their leadership failed to produce a satisfactory outcome ... Read more
Messi in Dhaka
The Argentina national football team arrived in Dhaka Monday morning ahead of their international friendly against Super Eagle Nigeria scheduled for Tuesday. Led by superstar Lionel Messi, the Argentina team landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 11:00am, amid tight security
Nasser Hussain calls Indian fielders ‘donkeys’
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has once again rubbed the Indians the wrong way as he called some of the fielders “donkeys” during the one-off Twenty20 match between India and England on Wednesday. Sitting in the commentary box, Hussain made the controversial comment after Parthiv Patel misjudged a Kevin Pietersen catch off Munaf Patel’s
Match sure, all else up in the air
A lack of a decisive decision from the Celebrity Management Group (CMG), the Kolkata-based event management firm that is brokering the Argentina friendly match in Bangladesh is threatening to put the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) in a real mess. “At the moment the only thing that I can say is that the match between Argentina ... Read more
Inquest a possibility
Manzur Ahmed said yesterday that an evaluation on the state of cricket in the country will be undertaken. The Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO believes that only an honest appraisal that looks into every corner will bring stability in the national team as well as the game as a whole. “I would like to see it ... Read more
Messi still amiss
With only a week left for the scheduled FIFA friendly between Argentina and Nigeria in Dhaka, the football authorities here made little progress till yesterday in terms of the schedule of the two visiting high-profile teams. The Argentina team are expected to arrive here on September 3 while the Nigerians are scheduled to arrive two ... Read more
Kolkata all geared up
While it is still all very hazy here about Argentina’s arrival and their schedule thereafter, Kolkata is gearing up in full swing for the September 2 friendly between Argentina and Venezuela. Argentine football coach Alejandro Sabella and goalkeeper Estaban Andrada along with 15 officials arrived in Kolkata town yesterday morning heightening the football fever that ... Read more
Sakib can’t wait for Messi
While the entire country is gripped by the Lionel Messi fever with the arrival time of the Argentine superstar looming close, national cricket captain Sakib al Hasan is also not an exception. Sakib, currently Bangladesh’s biggest sporting icon, is a keen follower of Messi, so much so that he even recently switched his support to ... Read more
BFF ball-boys cherish the special occassion
Abu Bakar Siddique never thought he will get an opportunity to see Lionel Messi from so close let alone being involved in a game played by the Argentine superstar in some capacity. But his dream is all set to come true as Bakar, 14, is one of the 16 young footballers selected to work as ... Read more
Team leader Munna takes a swipe at Tigers
Shafiqur Rahman Munna, Bangladesh’s head of delegation in Zimbabwe tour, took a swipe at the players for not showing enough commitment during the just-concluded tour. ‘I think some of them lacked commitment. They did not have the urge to play for the national side which is very disappointing,’ Munna told reporters on