‘Don’t see a football culture here’

Andres Cruciani returned to Bangladesh after 14 years to take charge of Saif Sporting Club after a brief stint with the Bangladesh football team as the head coach, during which men in red and green finished as the runners-up in 2005 SAFF Championships. The 59-year-old Argentinean shared his views about the country's football and his sociocultural experience, and more, to The Daily Star's Sabbir Hossain during an exclusive interview, the excerpts of which are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): How has the football scenario changed here?

Andres Cruciani (AC): When I first came here in 2005, I had no idea about the country except for its history of independence and geopolitics. But about the football, for example, I knew absolutely nothing. In this return to train Saif SC, I found a very changed Dhaka, a lot of development and growth, especially in infrastructure.

DS: Your take on the prevalent football culture here?

AC: I honestly don't see a football culture here. When talking about something that belongs to the culture of a country or a society, this implies the practice and development of the [relevant] activity on a massive scale. Participants engage from an early age and from every corner of the territory. But unfortunately, I don't see that happening here. There is a lot of passion and fanaticism for football, but the fans' passion here is reserved for international stage only and not for the local.

DS: How have you experience the cultural side of things here outside football sphere?

AC: I'm not very internalised, but I know- there is a great cultural movement here with musicians, writers, poets, painters, sculptors, actresses and actors. But football keeps me absorbed most of the time and that has prevented me from having more knowledge and contact with other areas and activities here.

DS: Could you share any lasting memories made here?

AC: I always keep the best memories of my time spent here in Bangladesh, where I enjoyed a lot. Above all, it's the kindness and friendship that they always offered me. The people here are the most valuable to me.

DS: Did you get a scope to explore the food and places so far?

AC: I can say that I like all the local food and I enjoy it to the fullest. I even like spicy food, although now I can't have it because I have to take care of myself. Also, I usually watch and listen to local music on television when I find myself zapping. I lived a very emotional moment days ago in Gopalganj. Elias, a former player and current BFF official, took me to see the ancestral home of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and narrated the whole surrounding story.