The Bangladesh Football Federation on Thursday appointed Italian Fabio Lopez as the head coach of national team for four months replacing him with Dutchman Lodewijk de Kruif.
An emergency meeting of the BFF also confirmed the appointment of Lopez’s two compatriots, assistant coach Costantino Zuccarini and fitness coach Angelo Pavia for the same period.
Though BFF showed Kruif the door, it retained the services of current German goalkeeping coach Christian Schweichler and local assistant coach Saiful Bari Titu.
Kruif’s assignment basis contract came to an end with two back-to-back World Cup Qualifying matches against Australia and Jordan and the BFF was quick to find his replacement in Lopez.
Lopez, who signed his agreement on Thursday, will work upto January 9 until the end of SAFF championship in India. However, the BFF said it can extend his contract depending on the schedule of SAFF.
The tournament is currently scheduled from December 23, 2015 to January 3 2016 in Kerala, India.
‘We were looking for a European coach who has a sound knowledge about Asian football,’ BFF’s vice-president Tabith Awal told reporters, confirming the appointment of Lopez.
‘We will have a five-man coaching staff with the inclusion of two other Italians, who will be arriving on September 13.’
New coach Lopez, a goalkeeper in his playing days, will supervise a national team for the first time in his coaching career,
having coached club teams in Lithonia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Maldives previously.
‘I’m very thankful to the BFF president [Kazi Salahuddin] as well as all the members in the BFF because they gave me a very big responsibility,’ said the 42-year old coach.
‘I’m now the head coach of this country and I will represent Bangladesh team anywhere in the world.
‘I will try to do my best. I think together we will reach something good. It is important to work as a unit and I am ready to do this,’ said Lopez, who vowed to work hard.
‘To improve we must work a lot. I watched last three to four games but I don’t like to comment on something because that was not mine.’
‘What I have seen in the last two matches, they played very bad tactically.
‘I will try to improve in this area with my technical staff. I think we must bring the winning mentality in the team, which I did not see in this team. I saw players in a dejected mood.’
Lopez however refused to criticise outgoing coach Kruif adding, ‘success of my predecessor is not my account and I’m not the right person to remark about the previous coach.’
‘I think players will
understand what we will do, I think it will not be a problem for me to understand them and the coach can’t make the players guilty.
‘Communication is the most important thing for a coach. If I can’t give the proper information to my players they can’t come up with right things.’
Lopez, the 16th foreign coach of Bangladesh national football team, will start his work from September 15 with 40 players. He is expected to trim the squad down to 25-member by September 23.
His first assignment will be the World Cup qualifying match away in Kyrgyzstan on October 13.
-With New Age input
