Back in coaching, Maruful eyes SAFF U-20 final

Veteran coach Maruful Haque is looking forward to guiding the Bangladesh under-20 football team to the final of the SAFF Under-20 Championship in Nepal later this month as he returns to coaching after a year-long sabbatical.

The former national team head coach, who left Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club early last year and then worked as a technical advisor to Chittagong Abahani last season, has been given the charge of the under-20 team by the Bangladesh Football Federation for the first time.

Talking to The Daily Star after conducting the first training session in Kamalapur yesterday, the successful club coach said he would try to focus on the tactical side of things in the South Asian event, which will take place in Kathmandu from August 18 to 28.

Bangladesh have been pitted against Sri Lanka and Nepal in Group A while Group B features India, Bhutan and Maldives.

"I am getting to know the players personally although I've seen most of them play in the Bangladesh Premier League," Maruful said. "With only around two weeks left for the SAFF Under-20 Championship, it will not be possible to focus on the players' fitness. So I would try to focus mainly on tactical aspects of the players, majority of whom played in the last premier league."

The under-20 team features three players – Mehdi Hasan Srabon, Mojibor Rahman Jony, and Chandon Roy -- with senior national team experience while eight players come from the BFF Academy. The coach feels the team is strong enough to make it to the final.

Bangladesh had played in the final in the last edition as well, eventually losing to hosts India after extra time.

"We were runners-up last time around. So I'm pretty confident we will reach the final this time too," said Maruful, who will also guide the team in the AFC U-20 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Vietnam next month.

Bangladesh will play against hosts Vietnam as well as Syria, Bhutan and Guam in that qualifying campaign, with 10 group winners and five best runners-up teams slated to qualify for the final round.

Maruful feels that he would get more time for that competition, hence he is setting the target high. "We will get more time to prepare for that tournament. Our target will be to qualify for the final round," the coach said. "We always do well at youth level and the teams like Syria and Vietnam are only mid-tier teams in Asia. So we can definitely target the final round."