National team’s Dutch coach Lodewijk de Kruif kept his cards close to his chest as he refused to disclose his plans and strategy to the media ahead of the SAFF Football Championship.
As per the wish of the Dutch coach, the Bangladesh Football Federation will organise another closed-door warm-up match between the national team and BFF XI today without allowing the newsmen to watch the game.
The regional football championship will get underway in Nepal in 11 days’ time and the 43-year-old Dutchman has expressed his desire to train his charges in an isolated environment before finalising the 20-man squad from among 24 footballers.
‘I don’t want to reveal the details to the media. You [media] saw the training session today [Monday]. Everything will be in the newspapers and on television tomorrow [today] which is what I don’t like,’ said De Kruif after a practice session on Monday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
‘Our opponents are also reading, observing and gathering information. Hopefully the press has their nose in the right direction,’ De Kruif added.
Besides the training sessions, the national side are also occupied with off-the-field activities as they are going through video sessions and theory classes with the Dutch coaching staff.
De Kruif informed that goalkeeping coach Kees Cornelius Kalk is also a video analyst who is assisting the team as an additional responsibility.
‘The goalkeeping coach [Kalk] is a very significant part of the team as he is not only a coach but also a video analyst. So he analyses the videos, identifies the mistakes and helps the players rectify those,’ he said.
Meanwhile, despite several attempts, De Kruif declined to single out any individual player of his liking while he also confirmed defender Kesto Kumar’s injury.
‘I wouldn’t talk about any individual player. I am not sure when to submit the final squad but it will be good for me as long as I can keep the 24 players. Kesto [Kumar] suddenly got injured and things like that can occur,’ he added.
-With New Age input
