Anisur Rahman

 “Having offered prayer at the mosque in the morning, I could not have sweetmeats like semai, payes or firni. Instead, I had usual breakfast at the hotel,” Bangladesh national football team striker Nabib Newaj Jibon recalled with anguish the memories of the Eid that he had to spend away from home while on tour to Laos for the first leg of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification in June 2019.

Oscar Bruzon, who has coached in Spain, India, Maldives and Bangladesh, has reached a milestone of guiding Bashundhara Kings in 100 games  as they played against Swadhinata Krira Sangha on Sunday. The Spaniard, apart from working as the head coach of Bangladesh national football team, had already steered Kings to two Bangladesh Premier League, two Federation Cup and one Independence Cup since he took over in 2018. The 44-year-old coach talked to The Daily Star's Anisur Rahman and expressed his views on different aspects of the game. The excerpts of the interview are as follows: 

39-year-old Afusi shared his past experiences and goals for the second phase of the league with The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman. The excerpts are below:

The Daily Star (DS): How was your maiden coaching experience long after retiring from football?

Match-fixing in Bangladesh’s domestic football is nothing new, something that keeps rearing its ugly head almost every season.

Having once buried their dreams of becoming footballers, Shankar Bagti Madhu, Anik Deb Barma Shuvon and Rony Mia Habib settled for working as day labourers at tea garden, agricultural field and on the bank of river to help their respective families earn bread and butter, but dreams, more often than not, find their ways into fulfilment. A little push or a helping hand, sometimes, is all it takes to land on the highway of dreams.  

Even in its 14th year, the Bangladesh Premier League is struggling to find its identity in the world of professional football. After being

Unlike the prevailing scenario nowadays, many disciplines had a place in the country’s sporting arena in the past and regularly produced stars that would hog the national spotlight.

Crisp passing, brilliant dibbling, coordinated attacks through either flanks and tight defending resulted in truly scintillating performances for Bangladesh on way to clinching the title of the SAFF U-19 Women Championship, but it was far from an easy task for the girls, who had to cross multiple hurdles to reach these heights.

Margarita Mamun (MM): It is my first visit after the Rio Olympic Games and I’m really happy and amazed to have received such a warm welcome from Bangladeshi people. I’m really happy to be here with my family. My mother is here, after 15 years, as well as my husband and our two-year-old son, who are here for the first time.

As the 13th edition of the South Asian football extravaganza concluded last night in Male, Bangladesh’s football fraternity should buckle up to thoroughly reflect on what transpired in the latest SAFF Championship for the country who last featured in the final of the prestigious tournament 16 long years ago. 

The curtain of the 13th SAFF Championship draws to a close today after the seven-time champions India take on debutant finalist Nepal in the closing match of the regional football extravaganza at Maldives’ National Football Stadium in Male.

Anjan Bista’s penalty, awarded by Uzbekistan referee Akhrol Riskullaev in a controversial fashion, in the dying minutes of the game broke the hearts of Bangladesh as Nepal came from behind to draw 1-1 in their final group fixture of the SAFF Championship at the National Football Stadium in Male yesterday.

Bangladesh national football team are looking forward to putting an end to a 16-year drought for a place in the SAFF Championship final as they square off against Nepal in a do-or-die clash at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives today.

The fate of Bangladesh in the ongoing SAFF Championship was no longer in their hands after losing 2-0 to Maldives in their third and penultimate match of the group stage, but it all changed on Sunday night after India beat Nepal 1-0 to keep their and Bangladesh’s hope of qualifying to the final.

A mini artificial turf ground located on the east of Male, adjacent to the Hiyfaseyha Maidhaan, was seen buzzing with the presence of around 30 budding footballers, training under two coaches, of the Friends Football Family Academy.

On the back of only a week-long preparation under interim coach Oscar Bruzon, Bangladesh national team surprised all in their first two matches against Sri Lanka and India in the ongoing SAFF Championship before suffering a defeat against hosts Maldives in their third match,

High-flying Bangladesh tasted their first defeat in the 13th SAFF Championship, suffering a 0-2 defeat to Maldives at the National Football Stadium in Male yesterday.

Bolstered by a creditable 1-1 draw against India in the previous match, Bangladesh are looking forward to preserving the momentum of their performance in their crucial upcoming SAFF Championship encounter as they square off against the hosts and defending champions Maldives at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives today.

Ahead of the start of the match against India in the SAFF Championship, Yeasin Arafat was distracted for a second as he recalled an incident in the final of the 2019 SAFF U-18 Championship against their Indian counterpart in Kathmandu when Bangladesh’s left-back had been sent off for a second booking after covering his face with his jersey in celebration after cancelling out a second-minute lead from Vikram Partap Singh.