Bangladesh’s 2003 Saff Championship-winning coach George Kottan returned to Dhaka yesterday to take charge of traditional crowd-pullers Abahani Limited. The 68-year old Hungarian-Austrian coach looked fit and did not show any old age complications when he was greeted by the Abahani officials and players in the afternoon.
Later onwards, Kottan shared his views and observations with the media. Here are the excerpts:
What prompted you to return
to Dhaka?
I returned to Bangladesh as I call it my second home. I was in Germany and got a call from [Satyajit Das] Rupu who offered me to coach Abahani. I said I will be free from 29th of November and I asked him about the former coach of the club. Then, one day later I called him back and said I want to check the club and want to know about Bangladesh football. If I find everything ok then I will be here for the season.
What were you doing in Germany prior to coming here?
I was coaching SV Kottenburg, a team in Germany. The owner of the club is my friend and he asked me to help him and take the job of his club. The regular trainer could not continue his job as his wife was critically ill. I accepted the job from 5th of July to 29th of November. Then I decided to come here.
* It would be mentionable that the team, also known as Kotte Green, remained unbeaten in 13 matches under the supervision of Kottan in the Vogtland League and were the table-toppers.
What are your targets with Abahani?
All I want to see is Abahani as the champions. I came to know that Abahani had not won any silverware last season. Abahani are a brand. Abahani are a well-known name in the sub-continental football. My target is to win titles for Abahani. The team are not bad. I came to know that they need a few players in a few positions. I think that will lift the team. I am working upon it with Rupu.
Which players would you prefer for Abahani - European or African?
You know African players adjust well with the conditions here. In Europe the temperature rises from minus to 35+degrees and the players struggle to cope with it. African players are more convenient with the conditions here. They can play in the hot and humid conditions and also in the monsoon. However, I also want to say I have not seen my players in the field. I have to observe them first then I can say where I need the foreign players in which positions.
Do you want to insert something new in Abahani?
At the moment if I want to comment about sub-continental football I can say India have improved. Pakistan have not. I can’t say specifically about Bangladesh as I did not follow them over the years. I sometimes saw some news in the AFC website about Bangladesh. Now, I am coming from Europe. They (Europeans) have changed the style. Now, the playing style is short pass-short pass and long with quick movements. I would like to implement it in Abahani. If they can adopt the system it will improve the standard. However, I am afraid that at the moment Bangladesh lack quality football fields. If you want to improve you need quality football fields.
Any interest regarding coaching the national side?
Yes, I was interested about coaching the Bangladesh national football team and if the federation asks me to assist I will be ready for that. I don’t have any idea about the current coaching staff. However, if it is attainable, why not again?