The Bangladesh football coach Lodewijk de Kruif labelled the national team’s inefficient forward line-up as the major obstacle to their success in the international circuit on Saturday. Scoring goals has been the stumbling block for Bangladesh as they converted only six goals in their last eight international matches. And the issue again hogged the headlines when Bangladesh lost their opening game of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup against Malaysia Under-23 on January 29 after their strikers wasted many scoring chances.
‘To be honest, we are in trouble with scoring right from I came here,’ De Kruif told reporters after a one-hour-and-a-half training session at the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmodni Club ground on Saturday.
‘The previous coaches also faced the same problem.’
De Kruif thinks that his forwards are suffering with some physiological problems. And he is eager to sort that out. ‘May be they have problems with their mentality.’
‘As the coach, I have to work on it, to train on it, give the guys as much confidence as they need. So, we can change the situation.’
Kruif believes that his side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Malaysia Under-23 team for lack of a proper finisher.
‘The most important thing in football is scoring goals and we are suffering from that.’
‘We are trying to finish properly, move rightly, stay at right place in right time but failing to finish it properly,’ said the 48-year-old Dutchman.
After the Malaysia game, De Kruif saw his charges in shock as well as noticed the eagerness to do something better in the next game against Sri Lanka on February 2.
‘The team is fit and they are very eager to do something better,’ he said.
‘We could not take our first chance against Malaysia. Now we will have the second chance against Sri Lanka and everyone wants to pick that chance and pick three points that we need.’
-With New Age input
