Dutch assistant coach Rene Koster arrived in Dhaka on Monday with physiotherapist Mohammet Yamali and took charge of the national team in the absence of head coach Lodewijk De Kruif.
Kruif will arrive in Dhaka later this week, when the preparation for the SAFF Championship, scheduled from September 1, will begin in full swing. Koster and Yamali held a short meeting with the players when they started work to set a goal for the players, which the assistant coach is hopeful of reaching.
‘Now I have started my work officially, I have 34 players and I told them what I expect from them,’ said the Dutchman after starting the afternoon practice session.
‘I told the team how to play, what you want to do and how to reach our goal; that’s very important and everybody has to believe in it.’
Yamali, who has yet to sign a contract with the Bangladesh Football Federation, focused his attention on the players rather than his job’s terms and conditions.
‘My goal is to get the players as fit as possible for the SAFF Football Championship, so that we can win the title,’ said Yamali, who worked with Koster at Almere City FC, a second division club in Holland.
‘As far as I know, the Bangladeshi players do not know how to nurse their bodies, so I would like to teach them how to do it. Of course, controlling the body is very important for football. I can begin with that to make them faster and better.’
Yamali will conduct a physical test to assess the current condition of the players before starting to work individually.
‘I have never met the players before. I don’t have much idea about them, so for the first two days I will take a test of the players and make a profile of every player. Then I will see who needs the extra attention to get fit before September,’ he informed reporters.
In his first meeting with the players, Yamali told the team just one thing: ‘If you want to stay in the squad, you have to work hard.’
-With New Age input
