“If Hemanta had a Dutch passport we could put him in the academy right away,” were the words that came from the FC Twente coach on the Bangladesh Under-19’s Hemanta Vincent Biswas who staged an impressive display in his final practice game at the Dutch club recently.
Both Hemanta and Bangladesh assistant coach Rene Koster, who accompanied the 17-year-old to the trial, returned home on Friday after a two-week trial and said age is making it difficult for the club to enroll Hemanta in their academy.
“Hemanta is 17. It’s not possible for him to stay in Holland because when you are coming out of European Union you have to be 18 years old then they give you contract. If they give Hemanta a contract in Holland there is a law they have to give him (Under-18) a contract of $250000 which is a big amount. So they take the best players from Europe,” explained Rene Koster yesterday.
After an average display in the first game, Hemanta put a bright performance in the second and last game. According to Rene, Hemanta was one of the best players on the pitch.
“In the last game, Hemanta and Bimal were the best players on the pitch to me. After the game, I talked to the coach of FC Twente and he said they were very happy with the performance. He also told me if they had Dutch passport they could put them in the academy right away,” said Rene.
Hemanta also said how he was greeted by others after the game. “The players and coach came to me and praised my performance. It gave me the confidence that I can make it through,” said the youngster.
FC Twente is expected to send their final reports on Hemanta in next few days before the Christmas. Rene also talked about the possibility of next steps. “What they can do is give them a training of 90 days in the academy and then send them back. They can give them a contract once they are 18.
“The most important thing for us is that Hemanta showed he can handle the pressure of the level in Holland. That is very very positive. He showed everybody there that he is a very good player with different quality. He is a very tough guy and have good attitude. We all should be proud of him,” he added.
Rene also admitted that the only lacking they found in Hemanta is that he is tactically a bit weaker than others. Hemanta, however, explained his experience during his day at FC Twente, “It was a great experience for me. The two weeks I spent there, it was a dream for me. Things are totally different from here. I learnt a lot there; how to behave, how to keep personality as a player. Overall I enjoyed a lot.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh head coach Lodewijk de Kruif said he has found another talent like Hemanta in Abahani’s U-16 centre-back Badshah. “He is only 14. We want to give him a chance. We want to give you stars. Football is below cricket here, but we want to change it,” said the Dutch coach.