Bangladesh Under-23 team will miss the services of coach Lodewijk de Kruif in their first friendly match against Nepal next week as the Dutchman is set to return home today on a short visit to be with his ailing father. ‘The condition of Kruif’s father, who has been suffering from cancer, is not good at the moment, so he has been granted a leave for a week,’ Bangladesh Football Federation general secretary Abu Nayeem Sohag told reporters on Sunday.
Bangladesh will play the two friendly matches against their Nepalese counterparts on August 26 and 29 in Dhaka and Sylhet respectively as part of their preparation for the forthcoming Asian Games. The matches were originally scheduled to be played on August 25 and 28, but the BFF had to revise the schedule keeping in mind the Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight schedule.
Sohag said Kruif will not return until August 26 and he might prolong his stay subject to the condition of his father.
‘It is certain that he will not be available for the first match, but we can expect the coach to be in the dugout in the second match in Sylhet,’ he said.
Kruif returned to Dhaka earlier this month after a long absence of four months due to his unpaid wages.
The coach announced a 20-member squad on Friday for the Asian Games, which will be held at Incheon, South Korea, from September 19 to October 4.
-With New Age input
