Only two and a half months ago, Chittagong Abahani were struggling at the bottom zone of the 11-team Bangladesh Premier League standings and had to fight with Farashganj in order to avoid the much-dreaded relegation.
Veteran coach Shafiqul Islam Manik was then entrusted with the responsibility of guiding the port city outfit. The rest as they say is history as Manik inspired his charges to a berth in the grand finale of the inaugural Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup and the upturn in Chittagong Abahani's fortunes can be attributed to the experienced campaigner.
Manik reshuffled the whole squad and steered his side to group-stage wins over four-time professional league champions Abahani and Pakistan premier league champions Karachi Electric. Chittagong Abahani then got the better of Afghan top-tier champions De Sphin Ghar Bazan in the first semi-final.
The home side, who began the tournament as underdogs, are now oozing with confidence and just a step away from lifting the title.
And on the eve of the final, Shishir Hoque of Dhaka Tribune managed to catch up with the experienced coach for an exclusive interview. Manik, the man responsible for Chittagong Abahani's “fairytale” run, provided the finer details of their success and also revealed the secret behind the impressive performance of temperamental national winger Zahid Hossain.
Here are the excerpts:
How did it all begin
I started to search for players in different clubs to strengthen my squad after it was known that the tournament is happening and Chittagong Abahani are the hosts. Then I heard that Sheikh Russel would not take part in the event and I started planning as to how I can get their players in my team on loan. They were very helpful and I got six of their players. With two of my own local players and three foreigners, I can form a compatible 11 men line-up. I did not get enough time for preparation and training sessions with each player. We did not even have a big ground to train as well.
The defence and its lackings
I faced little trouble when I was bringing in players from Sheikh Russel. Abahani were also trying to get two players from the same side and they brought two defenders – Waly Faisal and Topu Barman – who were supposed to be with us. So we have big lackings and not enough depth in that department. Defender Rezaul [Karim] played well above my expectations. He is different and better than before. He is one of the best defenders in the tournament.
The opening game loss
We were not organised against East Bengal because we lost the services of three players - Jamal Bhuiyan, Waly and Topu - just before the game. After that we had to treat the game against Abahani as a do-or-die one. We knew if we could beat Abahani, we will make it to the last four. The players were motivated too to give the home crowd something to cheer about. The victory against Abahani was the turning point.
The grand finale
I would be more confident if we face East Bengal again in the final. But I want Mohammedan in the final as I want the title to go to the hands of a Bangladeshi club. Mohammedan also deserved to be in the final for their performance.
Four games in a week
I handled the players technically and did not give them extra pressure. We treated the matches as practice sessions and the players managed to recover from minor injuries. I had to take care of this matter very carefully.
Handling Zahid
He is performing well because of his self confidence and mentality. I know him from the Under-14 level. He had a slight injury on his knee before joining us and I told him to train separately and he recovered fast. Many complain about his indiscipline but I did not see anything like this in him. I knew if I want to get the best out of a great player like him, we have to be friends first.
Exclusion of Ameli and Zahid from the national squad
When a coach takes a decision like this, he has to think and analyse a lot. Maybe he thought it is the right thing for the team. They did not play bad against Kyrgyzstan. Mamunul [Islam] was deployed in an unfamiliar position. We will play against Tajikistan away and Australia at home next month. After these two matches, we can then tell if his decision was right or wrong.
Thoughts on the upcoming season
The first target is to form a quality squad so that we can stay in the top-three or top-four in the league. It is very difficult to win the title but whatever the squad, I will get it to fight for the championship.