Love, horror movies and Hong Kong-China match

Modern football is no longer confined to the goal line and touchline. It is a contest of technology, psychology, words and tactics — at times even of shrewd manoeuvring. The match Bangladesh played against Hong Kong-China could easily have been held in the afternoon or evening; but starting it at 8 pm had a clear purpose — to throw the visiting side into possible logistical complications ahead of their away match on 14 October.

On the match day, the last flight from Dhaka to Hong Kong-China was at 2 am. That Emirates flight also happened to be the longest on the route — about 13 hours. The Thai Airways flight on Friday afternoon had no tickets available. The easiest option for the visiting team to leave Dhaka was the Cathay Pacific flight on Saturday at 5:15 pm. In that case, the Bangladesh team, scheduled to leave on Friday noon, would have reached Hong Kong-China earlier, meaning they would be better rested and fresher for the return leg.

But the visiting side denied Bangladesh that opportunity. Upon arrival in Dhaka, the Hong Kong-China camp informed the match commissioner, Ahmed Shahir of the Maldives, that their schedule had changed — they would fly back by chartered plane, not by regular flight. In modern football, the ability to arrange a chartered flight for convenience is quite ordinary. Now imagine Bangladesh — with its history of searching for cheaper flights and taking long transits!

Given that contrast between the two teams, a gap in performance on the field was inevitable. Even so, the Bangladesh–Hong Kong-China match, shifting colours every few minutes, gave plenty to hold on to for the red-and-green. Bangladesh took the lead, conceded three goals, and then, rising from the rubble, made it 3–3 within fifteen minutes — a daring act of defiance. Yet the familiar heartbreak followed — conceding a goal at the very end to lose 3–4.

Love is said to be like a horror movie — where affection and fear coexist! In this AFC Asian Cup Qualifier between Bangladesh and Hong Kong-China, there was no fear, only the bittersweet blend of joy and pain. Thinking about the match feels good, yet hurts as well. To turn those fleeting joys into lasting ones, Bangladesh must still travel a long way.

If you are already frowning after reading “there is pride even in such a defeat,” please look at the statistics. In the past twenty years, Bangladesh had not scored three goals in a single match against a non–South Asian team. In the last fifteen years, they have scored three or more goals only seven times — all against weaker South Asian opponents: thrice against Bhutan, twice against Sri Lanka, and once each against Pakistan and the Maldives. Against Hong Kong-China, Bangladesh last lost 2–0 in the 2006 Asian Cup Qualifiers. To fight back like this against such a team is indeed remarkable.

That kind of fire in the red-and-green was last seen a decade ago — in the final of the 2015 Bangabandhu Gold Cup. In that match at the then Bangabandhu National Stadium, Bangladesh, coached by the Dutchman Lodewijk de Kruif, came back from 0–2 down against Malaysia to make it 2–2 within five minutes. Thanks to Zahid Hasan Emily and Yasin Khan, Bangladesh staged a brave comeback, only to lose 3–2 in the dying moments — the same old story. The stands were packed that day too, and home fans left with heavy hearts.

Now the question is — can the current team meet the sky-high expectations of Bangladeshi football fans? The answer is probably negative. It cannot be denied that Bangladesh are now more diverse as a team than before — with expatriate players like Hamza Choudhury, Samit Som, and Fahmidul Islam. The newest addition, Zayan Ahmed, impressed on debut and won everyone’s hearts.

The problem is, football is a team game — when one or two of the eleven make mistakes, the whole team sinks. That is exactly what happened against Hong Kong-China. While Hamza Choudhury, Samit Som, Fahmidul Islam, Zayan Ahmed and Jamal Bhuiyan stood out, Faisal Ahmed Fahim, Sohel Rana Junior, and Sad Uddin faltered — and the whole team paid the price.

It would be unfair to blame any individual for such a collapse. In football, the coach usually becomes the scapegoat — at the end of the day, he takes the blame. After the defeat to Hong Kong-China, Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera admitted responsibility. But if Faisal Ahmed Fahim heads the ball into the opponent’s feet inside the box, what can Cabrera do? Even José Mourinho or Pep Guardiola could not have done much! When Sohel Rana Junior gifts a goal through a weak back pass, or when Sad Uddin’s poor clearance sets up a goal, what can the coach possibly fix? Adjusting a defender’s stance is hardly his job.

Where Cabrera does bear responsibility is in team selection. His choices are questionable — why include an injured centre-back in the 23-man squad? Why depend so heavily on Sad Uddin? Why not value Jamal Bhuiyan’s experience properly? After Jamal’s fine performance in the friendly against Bhutan on 4 June, he could have been tested further. Instead, Cabrera substituted him at half-time, and kept him on the bench for the full match against Singapore on 10 June. When Jamal finally came on against Hong Kong-China, he did not transform the game single-handedly, but his role in the comeback was vital.

Much of the criticism of Cabrera has centred on his wild celebration after Bangladesh’s third goal. He ran out of the technical area towards the corner flag to join the players. The match was not over yet. Former national captain Zahid Hasan Emily sharply criticised this behaviour, saying, “Celebrating like that before the final whistle is pure madness. At that moment, Hong Kong-China were under immense pressure. Bangladesh should have ensured first that we wouldn’t concede again, then kept up the attack for a fourth goal. Instead, we lost focus in joy, conceded again, and lost the match.” Still, Emily also praised the team’s fighting spirit, calling their comeback from 1–3 down commendable.

Among those heartbroken by the loss is Kamal Babu, a respected domestic coach. “When Bangladesh were staring at certain defeat,” he said, “what we needed was a magical moment — and the Almighty gave it to us through Samit Som. But some immature, overly emotional acts from the coaching staff ruined everything! After Samit gave us that magical moment, was there any need for the head coach and staff to lose themselves in celebration? They should have regrouped the players to ensure no more goals were conceded. That was not the time for emotions. That fourth goal broke the hearts of fans.”

Despite the heartbreak, Kamal Babu’s voice carried determination too: “Today, we in the football community apologise to all fans for failing to deliver good football, a win, or even a draw. Please do not abandon us. Fans are the life of the game. Inshallah, one day your support will awaken the officials, and a bright new sun will rise again over Bangladeshi football.”

Mahbub Sarker: Writer and sports journalist