The Bangladesh Football Federation on Saturday decided to bring back Dutch coach Lodewijk de Kruif for the national team ahead of the Asian Cup play-offs against Tajikistan.
Kruif is expected to arrive in next week for the home and away matches respectably scheduled on June 2 and 7. Kruif had earlier left in September after the BFF refused to extend his temporary contract following a World Cup qualifier against Jordan.
Italian Fabio Lopez and local coach Maruful Haque and Spanish Gonzalo Sanchez Moreno supervised the national team after his departure without any success that prompted the BFF to turn back to the enigmatic Dutchman.
‘The Asian Cup play-offs qualifiers are really very important for us,’ said BFF vice-president Kazi Nabil, also the chairman of national teams committee of the BCB.
‘As we could not set any long-term plan for the national team yet we appointed a coach on temporary basis who knows our players, pitches and our football,’ said Nabil, hoping that Kruif’s appointment will efface the recent disappointment.
This was the first serious move taken by the new BFF body which took office after April 30 elections.
In another move, Nabil said they are also considering lifting the ban of four national players including Mamunul Islam, Zahid Hossain, Yeasin Khan and Sohel Rana, who are serving out a ban for different term for breaching team rules.
‘If they apologise for what they have done we will reconsider the matter,’ said Nabil.
-With New Age input
