After the conclusion of the one and a half month training camp for the 10th SAFF Championship which will kick off on August 31, weary footballers are gradually recovering from fatigue.
The footballers earlier requested national team head coach Lodewijk de Kruif to give them a proper recovery period and the Dutch coach complied by training his charges once every day, instead of two training sessions.
After receiving sufficient time for recuperating, the players are now satisfied and fully prepared before the start of the regional football competition.
‘We lost our natural sprit due to intense training but now we have recovered our enthusiasm after the coach gave us more time for resting,’ said a player seeking anonymity on Friday.
The national footballers appeared jaded in their recent practice matches, which includes a 2-1 loss to top flight club Sheikh Jamal on Wednesday.
‘Due to a string of consecutive practice games and the matches in the domestic league, it became difficult to motivate ourselves for the national team. But when we
reach Nepal, everyone will be spirited and the team will be fired up for the title,’ he added.
The player, who wished not to be named, was not that concerned with the result of the recent string of warm-up matches.
‘It doesn’t matter what happened in Dhaka, the conditions in Nepal are totally different. The team is recovering. The coach is conducting one training session every day, the rest of the time is for resting. After a couple of days, our physical appearance will reveal everything,’ he said.
The Bangladesh national team will play their last practice match today against a Bangladesh Football Federation XI at the Bangabandhu National Stadium before leaving for Nepal on Sunday.
-With New Age input
