Robert Rubcic, the new Croatian football coach, pointed out a lack of finishing and not performing off-the-ball duties well as the major weaknesses of Bangladesh footballers and vowed to work hard on the flaws on Monday.
Rubcic, who roamed around the Dhaka city during the three-day vacation on occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, watched two Bangladesh matches on the video and was quick to find out the flaws. ‘The players are technically okay but I saw they were not rushing for the ball when it was in the opponents’ possession and the lack of finishing in the opposition box is also a major weakness,’ said the Croatian.
The coach also observed that they had weaknesses in the corner kicks and free-kicks. ‘Utilising the set pieces is very important, Bangladesh footballers are not very capable of scoring from set pieces,’ commented Rubcic.
The Croatian said he prefers players who can run throughout the ninety minutes. ‘My players will have to run for ninety minutes; otherwise it is not possible to achieve the target, I will not go for a rapid change in tactics and techniques, rather I will go slow in this matter,’ said Rubcic.
Rubcic visited the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Lalbagh fort and Ahsan Manjil and also bought a ‘silk punjabi’ to celebrate the Eid. ‘I have started to love Bangladesh, it is a beautiful country, the food is also special, I have started a new life and enjoying it,’ said Rubcic.
Rubcic liked the positive approach of Bangladesh in the two matches he watched. ‘Yes, positive style of playing is good but you also have to know how much positive you have to be, sometimes is becomes risky,’ explained the coach.
Rubcic expressed his satisfaction with the assistant coaches. ‘Assistant coaches are very important for the team, it is no possible for the head coach to look into everything, my assistants Roxy, Jilani and Titu are very good,’ admitted Rubcic.
Rubcic will start his work with the players today at BKSP.
‘The players enjoyed a vacation and I know they have taken a lot of rich food during the Eid vacation, so for the next five days I will be conducting with-the-ball training and then I will move to the tactics,’ concluded Rubcic.
