Bangladesh coach Lodewijk de Kruif pleased with performance against India

Lodewijk de Kruif

Bangladesh coach Lodewijk de Kruif was full of praise for his young charges today, as they held India to a 2-2 draw in Goa. The Dutch coach was in an optimistic mood, drawing many positives in his post match thoughts.

“I think we played with a lot of maturity, a lot of power, and always the will to play football. [We always took] one, two, three touches, everybody was moving, very good positioning. We showed with our young boys, four or five of them under 20.

“The best player on the pitch, number 10, Hemonta, was 17 years old. I think the performance was very good. I told you before, the preparation time was very short. You never know how they come out on the pitch. I think the coach can be proud of them, and they can be proud of themselves. They are fighting for their honour, for Bangladesh, a small footballing country, who need a little bit of glory.”

When asked if the result was bittersweet, because a late goal was conceded, he said: “Yes. For the second time,” referring to his side’s draw against India in the SAFF championships. “Most of the goals are scored in the last 5 or 7 minutes because one of the teams is losing concentration, and the ability to fight for every ball.”

He also reflected on the fact that the goals conceded were personal errors and not caused due to a collective mistake from the team. “The goals we conceded today were personal mistakes of the oldest player on the pitch. This is football. It happens. This is bitter, because when we go home with a win, we feel better. But this is a process. Step by step, we are building a better team for the future.”

He also mentioned that Bangladesh were only able to train for three days in preparation for this match, in the process elaborating on the troubles faced by him during team selection, blaming injuries and visa issues for the lack of a full strength squad. “We’ve been training three days. We selected 28 boys, we had trouble with injuries. We had trouble with visa. We had to drop six guys. Then we have around 21. In the 21, 10 or 11 are new. Fresh fish.”

However, he conceded that India were the more dominant side, at least in the physical aspect. He also praised the Indian striker, Robin Singh.

He said: “I was a little bit surprised. I saw the number nine, the striker, he looked like a tree. I was surprised that the coach substituted him, because in my opinion it is important that the number nine is a big, strong guy, who can keep the ball, and also score. When he changed him, I was happy at that moment.” joked the Dutchman.

“I think the physical behaviour of the Indian team was better. Not in terms of freshness of play, but in terms of tallness and strength. I think, in my team, we have 10 or 11 young guys, they are probably not fully grown yet, and you could see the difference.” he added.