Cost of errors, failure to capitalise opportunities

Hamza Choudhury has experience playing in the English Premier League and has also played for England’s U-21 national team. Shamit Shome plays in the Canadian league and has experience playing for that country’s national team. Fahmidul Islam, though playing in a lower-tier league in Italy, is a forward enriched with speed and a never-give-up attitude. Tariq Kazi, raised in Finland, is a symbol of reliability in Bangladesh’s defence. These players have enriched the Bangladesh national football team with their skills; but the task of weaving this talent into a coherent unit didn’t happen! That’s the coach’s job.

On June 10, nearly 22,000 spectators were in the gallery of Dhaka National Stadium. The enthusiasm of fans and supporters centred around players like Hamza and Shamit. That interest hasn’t yet waned; but the expectations with which spectators came to the stadium weren’t fulfilled! In the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, Bangladesh didn’t just lose a match against Singapore, it also missed a golden opportunity. That was the chance to harness the fan interest and ride the hype surrounding football.

At this stage, when you enter the field for a match, you have to be prepared for both victory and defeat. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, the second happened; but when you have a chance to spark a football awakening, there is no alternative to making the most of it. Because such opportunities don’t come often. After a long time, there was a frenzy around football. There was an expectation to capitalise on it through good performance; but Javier Cabrera’s team failed to do so. Coach Alfaz Ahmed, who led Mohammedan to their first league title in the professional era, echoed this sentiment, saying, “When you give your best, play good football, even if you lose, the fans won’t be disappointed. Rather, they’ll cheer for you.”

With Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome, Fahmidul Islam, and Tariq Kazi in the team, was Bangladesh able to give its best? Those who watched the match will unanimously say—no, they didn’t. At this point, coach Javier Cabrera’s tactics and team selection do not remain above question. Questions remain over the exclusion of the impressive Jamal Bhuiyan from the starting eleven of the previous match. Although Shakil Ahad Topu was included in the eleven, Bangladesh’s Spanish coach played this defender in the right-back position. Which is not the 19-year-old footballer’s natural position. Playing centre-back Topu as right-back did the defensive job, but the attacking supply from that position was absent.

Those who play in right-back and left-back positions are not only tasked with thwarting opponent attacks; they also supply ammunition for the team’s offence. One of the key duties is to deliver crosses into the box from the wings. Bangladesh didn’t get those crosses from the right-back position. Still, Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera kept Shakil Ahad Topu on until the 76th minute. Taj Uddin was the expected player in this position against Singapore; in the match against Bhutan on 4 June, he had contributed both in defence and offence. Jamal Bhuiyan, who played box-to-box in that match, was also outstanding; but in the match against Singapore, he was benched in favour of Syed Kazem Shah.

Beyond team selection and player positioning, there were multiple tactical flaws in the match. In this home game, Bangladesh only played all-out football after going 0-2 down. That should have been attempted earlier. Former national team captain Alfaz Ahmed also believes so. It became clear right after kick-off that Singapore had thoroughly studied Bangladesh. The visiting team seized control of the midfield early on. Needless to say, the lifeblood of the current Bangladesh team is the midfield. That’s where players like Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome, Jamal Bhuiyan, Mohammad Hridoy, and Sohel Rana play. Javier Cabrera had no visible counter-strategy to Singapore’s midfield control.

When the opposition controls the midfield, naturally your defence will come under pressure. That’s what happened to Bangladesh. To handle the extra pressure, at times Hamza Choudhury dropped into the right-back position and pushed Shakil Ahad Topu into defensive midfield! Recently, Hamza Choudhury has been seen playing as a right-back for Sheffield United in the Championship. Perhaps that’s why the 27-year-old midfielder moved into that position. Deciding which tactics to use in which situation—that’s the coach’s job. Due to various inconsistencies in the match, football analysts are putting Javier Cabrera in the dock.

Here, former striker Alfaz Ahmed also called the Bangladesh coach unfortunate, “I’d say it’s the coach’s misfortune. Because he didn’t have forwards who could hold the ball near the opposition goal. Had that been possible, others could have joined the attack. But in most cases, the player who received the ball near the goal was alone. If he could’ve held it, others could have joined the offence.” After Faisal Ahmed Fahim came onto the field, Bangladesh’s attacking pace increased. It is also being suggested that the Bashundhara Kings forward should have been brought on earlier.

In modern football, when one player makes a mistake, others quickly step up to cover. But that’s rarely seen in Bangladesh’s case. As a result, if a specific player makes an error, the team pays the price. And that happened against Singapore too. The move that led to the visitors’ first goal involved four to five mistakes. In international football, such errors come at a full cost, and the Bangladesh team had to pay it.

The goal originated from a throw-in by Harhys Stewart. The long throw into the box wasn’t fully cleared by Saad Uddin. There was no one ahead to neutralise the left-back’s half-clearance. Outside the box, Singapore’s captain Hariss Harun was unmarked. His shot deflected off Tariq Kazi’s foot and floated in the air. Goalkeeper Mitul Marma came forward to clear it but only managed a half-clearance. Later, Harhys Stewart delivered the ball into the goal area unchallenged—from which Singapore scored.

You made a mistake, and the team paid the price. But if you fail to capitalise on mistakes made by opposition players, your team will sink. Singapore’s goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud made an error in the sixth minute. With three against three, the goalkeeper gave the ball to Shamit Shome through a misplaced pass. The Canadian-born midfielder had Fahmidul and Rakib Hossain in front of him. Rakib was onside and unmarked in the box. But just outside the box, Shamit Shome failed to control the ball—Bangladeshi players held their heads, as did fans in the gallery!

In modern football, the opposition rarely gives such chances. If you fail to make use of them, you will fall behind. With this defeat to Singapore, Bangladesh has fallen behind in the race to qualify for the Asian Cup. A draw against India and a loss to Singapore—Bangladesh has only 1 point from two matches. The group is now led by Singapore and Hong Kong, both with 4 points. With the same 1 point as India, Bangladesh sits third in the group.

Misfortune also befell Bangladesh in the match. In the 21st minute, due to Fahmidul Islam’s pressing, Singapore defender Amirul Adli’s back pass was gripped by goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, yet referee Clifford Daypuyat did not call a foul. The Philippine referee ignored Fahmidul Islam’s strong appeal. In such cases, the rules allow for a free kick inside the box, and even a card can be shown. Towards the end of the match, when Faisal Ahmed Fahim was tackled by Singapore’s midfielder Irfan Najeeb, it was a clear penalty. Again, the referee ignored it.

Were the mistakes only on the field? There were mistakes off the field too. In the hype surrounding the match, active supporter groups like Bangladeshi Ultras and Bangladesh Football Supporters Forum were neglected. After learning that no free passes would be issued, members of these supporter groups requested officials of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to allow them to buy tickets; but members of these two groups, who have long cheered for the red-and-green, were ignored. Those who once kept the gallery alive during football’s dark days were now neglected just when signs of revival began to show!

Former footballers expressed frustration at the lack of respect shown in the match. Former stars like Rumman Bin Wali Sabbir and Alfaz Ahmed were watching the match from the lower section of the west gallery. Sabbir was even seen getting into a scuffle with other spectators in the general gallery. When even football insiders weren’t valued, officials from other sports federations were completely left out. Yet Bangladesh football has a friendly past of inviting such officials. It’s being said that due to the current interest surrounding football, BFF officials are ‘seeing five legs on an elephant’! It's urgent to come back down to the ground from that illusion. Otherwise, like in the past, it won’t take long to lose direction again.

On one side were flawed strategies and team selections; on the other, in-match mistakes by players, and also a failure to take advantage of opposition errors—this is what led to the inevitable on 10 June at Dhaka National Stadium. In October, the red-and-green will take the field again for qualifying tests. After home matches, the next two games will be away against Hong Kong. In those matches, fans won’t want to see a repetition of past mistakes. If the same happens repeatedly, football lovers will be forced to turn their backs.

Mahbub Sarkar: Journalist