Footballers in Cox's Bazar

The national football team reached Cox's Bazar last night to begin the first leg of their three-month preparation for the SAFF Championship in December.

The booters, who left the BFF Bhaban yesterday at 9.30 am by bus, halted at Noakhali for lunch during a long journey.

The team will train for one month at the tourist resort near the country's southern tip before returning to the capital for the World Cup 2010 pre-qualifiers against Tajikistan in October.

The coaches will then select an under-23 squad for the Grand Royal Cup to be held in Myanmar in November before resuming training for the regional football festival, which will be jointly hosted by Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Although 33 footballers were named for the preliminary camp, some seniors, alarmingly, did not accompany the team.

Midfielders Abul Hossain and key striker Zahid Hassan Emily both requested the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to allow them join the team a day later due to personal reasons while Mehdi Hassan Ujjal claimed that he was sick and advised by the team physician to rest for a few days.

BFF acting general secretary Manzoor Hossain Malu, who is also the chairman of the National Team Management Committee, however, informed that he did get any report from team doctor.

Veteran center-back and former captain Rajani Kanta Barman also will be late, said Malu adding that two senior players - Matiur Munna and Fereoz Mahmud Titu - did not even report to the BFF.

The footballers only returned this week after playing the Nehru Cup and the Merdeka Cup in India and Malaysia respectively.

Coach Hasanuzzaman Babloo accompanied the team while assistant coach Golam Jilani had left Dhaka a day early to make some arrangements.

Malu also informed that head coach Syed Nayeemuddin will return to Dhaka after a short vacation in India. The former Indian coach and international is expected to land in Dhaka this morning from Kolkata by a GMG flight. He will leave for Chittagong also today.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper and national captain Aminul Haque has refused to join the residential camp unless he is officially called.

The acting general secretary of BFF had asked him to enroll unofficially after coach Nayeemuddin showed his reluctance to include Aminul for missing an entire season through injury.

No Place For Alfaz

Alfaz Ahmed's return from retirement was short-lived as the veteran striker was dropped from the national team's preparatory camp for two tournaments this year and the World Cup pre-qualifiers.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) yesterday called 33 footballers to join camp for this October's World Cup home and away pre-qualifiers against Tajikistan, the Grand Royal Cup in Myanmar where the Under-23 team will participate in November and the SAFF Championship in December.

Alfaz, who had announced his retirement from international football after the Asia Cup qualifiers in 2006, joined the camp for the Nehru Cup - which concluded in India last month - when he was picked by new coach Syed Nayeemuddin.

Alfaz, the fulcrum of the country's SAF Games (1999) and SAFF Championship (2003) winning teams, did not get a chance in the starting line-up of the first two games in the Nehru Cup in New Delhi but got back into the first eleven in the latter matches after the Bangladesh striking duo failed to deliver the goods.

Bangladesh scored just one goal in four matches and Indian coach Nayeemuddin, whose vacation has yet to be ended, kept his first choice striking pair of Emily and Robin in addition of Moni and rookie Rony Islam.

The BFF finalised the team after yesterday's teleconference among its acting general secretary Manzoor Hossain Malu, Hasanuzzaman Babloo who was coach of the Merdeka Cup side, assistant coach Golam Jilani and Nayeemuddin, who is now in Kolkata to obtain visa to return to Bangladesh.

"We discussed for a long time and Nayeemuddin took reports of the Merdeka Cup before finalising the list," said Malu yesterday.

The team will leave Dhaka tomorrow for Cox's Bazar to have a monthlong residential camp in the tourist resort.

"We are sending three coaches and a physio with the team, which will stay at the Diamond Rest House. It is very close to the Cox's Bazar Stadium where the team will train for one month," informed Malu.

The general secretary of Cox's Bazar DSA will co-ordinate the camp, to be run by Nayeem, Babloo and Jilani.

Although the squad include 33 members, goalkeeper Aminul Haque, who missed an entire season due to injury, will join unofficially.

"No doubt he is the number one goalkeeper of the country but Nayeem was reluctant as he did not see him play throughout the season. However, as the general secretary of the federation, I have used my power to take him to the camp," added Malu.

Aminul has recovered from injury and has been training for long.

Although press reports suggested that Sujan, country's top defender, was on the verge of his return to the national team, it was learned that his recovery from injury was not good enough for him to play even humbly for half an hour.

Muktijoddha's holding midfiel-der Maruf and Badda Jagarani midfielder Nasir are the new inclusions while Mohammed Rony, Akram, GM Mamun, Mamun Khan and Liton were ignored after not playing in the Nehru Cup or the Merdeka Cup.

The other noted omission was former international Parvez Babu while impressive rightback Ibnul Siraji once again failed to win the heart of the coaching panel despite Bangladesh showed incompetence at the right side of the backline in the Nehru Cup.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Biplab Bhattachariya, Ziaur Rahman Zia, MN Shakil, Mazharul Islam Himel.

Defenders: Hassan Al Mamun, Feroz Mahmud Titu, Atiqur Rahman Mishu, Rajani Kanta Barman, Nazrul Islam, Ariful Islam, Mahmudul Hassan, Jahirul Islam, Amit Khan Shuvra, Mofazzal Hossain Saikat, SM Rajib, Arafat Rony, Arup Baidya, Wali Faisal.

Midfielders: Mehdi Hassan Ujjal, Arman Aziz, Abul Hossain, Zahid Hossain, Zahed Parvez, Matiur Munna, Jumratul Islam Mithu, Mamunul Islam, Enamul Haque Sharif, Nasirul Islam Nasir, Maruf Ahmed.

Forwards: Mohammed Robin, Zahid Hassan Emily, Rony Islam, Saifur Rahman Moni.

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