Former Hungarian-Austrian football coach George Kottan, who guided Bangladesh to their maiden and only SAFF Championship title in 2003 and Abahani Limited to the double in 2016, passed away Monday.
Confirming the news with reference to Hungarian Football Federation, former footballer and Bangladesh Premier League club Fortis FC’s manager Rashedul Islam said Kottan’s funeral will be held in Budapest on October 6.
A tribute from Bangladesh
Rashedul, who also worked as sports journalist at reputed Bangladesh dailies before starting his managerial career, shared a facebook post Thursday to pay tribute to the SAFF Championship winning head coach of Bangladesh men’s football team.
Here is the translation of the tribute originally posted in Bengali:
“As a football fan, I have always been impressed by coach George Kottan. I knew him from the time of studying in class seven. I used to call him 'Grandfather'. Skipping classes at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan to watch his practice session was my addiction.
“I personally know all the foreign coaches who came after Kottan. I also got the opportunity to practice under some coaches in age-group and national teams. But I have never seen anyone who embraced Bangladesh like Kottan. Most of the other coaches worked from a professional point of view while Kottan worked with love for Bangladesh.
“Kottan coached not only the national team but also Abahani. The story of the day after Abahani won the Federation Cup in 2016 is still fresh in my mind.
“It was sunny noon. The club was still sleeping. There was nothing that hinted of winning the Federation Cup after four years. Not a single person could be found at the club premises who would share a pleasant conversation with anyone on the previous day's victory.
“From the ground floor of the balcony, I saw a tall man standing on the football field. Since there is no way to clearly recognize from distance, I moved a little closer to see. Hey, this is coach George Kottan!
“At noon of Chaitra (Bengali month), the sun was overhead. The 'old' man is mowing the grass by himself, pushing the machine under the hot sun. Apart from teaching football lessons to the footballers, his job was also to plant grass on the field and trim the grass on time.
“So like everyone else, Kottan didn’t have the time to sleep till noon. Working at the highest level of world football as an assistant to legendary coach Rinus Michels of Barcelona and Ajax, this man believed, 'Quality football depends on quality football field'.
“Kottan sprinkled manure with his own hands on the club field and replanted grass where there was none. Again, he bought oil with his own money and trimmed it. A fence was built to prevent anyone from entering the field.
“When he was present, if someone came to the field and wanted to sit, he would hand over money and say, 'Not here, go to Dhanmondi lake, buy nuts and have a chat!'
“Along with caring for the field, he also supervised the kitchen environment.
“Whether the plates were properly cleaned or the players were being served quality food, he took all the responsibility on his shoulders.
“But his departure was very sad after giving Bangladesh the SAFF Championship in 2003. With his departure, the national team lost one of the biggest well-wishers of Bangladesh football.
“He returned to Austria and hung the Bangladesh flag on the wall of his house. Even though the red and green colors were perishing away, Bangladesh was still fresh in his mind.
“Many foreign coaches have come to Bangladesh football for euros, dollars and pounds but none could become 'Kottan', not in terms of success and neither in sincerity nor love for the red and green. May my Grandfather be well.
“Good luck, 'The Successful Face of Bangladesh Football'.”