Chittagong Abahani Limited were sitting in a favorable position when the Bangladesh Premier League was suspended in March due to the pandemic.
They were jointly on top alongside Abahani Limited after their first six rounds of fixtures, which included wins over all four BPL winners.
Following a devastating season, the club seemed to have got back the consistency under head coach Maruful Haque, who followed his own methods to make the new force stronger.
Maruful didn’t follow the trend of most BPL clubs who rotate their squad every season.
He practiced it at Arambagh Krira Sangha and continued it at the new tent.
When every club were engaged in shuffling their foreign collection during the transfer window, the port city outfit remained the only one unchanged.
“It is because of keeping the combination right. The local players are same and if the foreigners are also unchanged, I think it’s possible to do something good. It’s an advantage.” Maruful told Dhaka Tribune.
Ivorian Didier Brossou will continue to partner Manik Molla in midfield, Uzbekistan’s Pulatov Shukur Ali will marshal the defence alongside Monjurur Rahman Manik, while Brazilian striker Nixon Gyuhlerme, Nigerian Chinedu Mathew and Rakib Hossain up front will provide the goals.
The one addition in the 31-man squad registered for the new season is former Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited goalkeeper Mazharul Islam Hemel.
It’s been around a month since Abahani Limited started pre-season camp after the long Covid-19 break.
Posted by Sports Tribune on Thursday, 10 December 2020
Striker Shakhawat Hossain Rony is currently the only member with injury and likely to be ruled out from the Federation Cup.
The team held their pre-season camp in Mymensingh due to insufficient fields in the capital.
They started on November 26.
Last year, they trained at the same place for a week before the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup.
It required at least one and a half months for pre-season preparation after the long pandemic break.
Maruful also admitted that the players will not be fully ready in terms of fitness for the curtain raiser Federation Cup, kicking off Tuesday.
“Maximum players didn’t train enough during the corona time. The boys had to work hard. I hope they will achieve around 75-80% fitness and gain the rest match by match.”
The former national coach also had to work separately with the foreigners in the last one week due to their late arrival.
Maruful introduced Global Positioning System technology in BPL when he was at Arambagh.
The defensive flaws of star-studded Bashundhara Kings started to get exposed from the knockout stages of the last...
Posted by Sports Tribune on Sunday, 13 December 2020
The country’s only Uefa A licensed coach has now launched drone technology.
He explained that drone helped to find specific mistakes players do rather than that what’s being told.
“When those are shown on projector it becomes clearer and they realize easily what should be done and what not,” said Maruful.
Maruful won historic treble as Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra head coach, the premier league title with Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited, Federation Cup and Super Cup with Mohammedan and lately Independence Cup with Arambagh.
He led the same club to Club Cup final and now wants to make Chittagong Abahani champions as well.
“We were leading the table before corona suspended the league. Hopefully we start from there and play for the championship in every competition,” said Maruful.
The club shifted the camp to the capital Saturday and held a light warm-up session at Ramna Park the following day.
They kick off the 2020-21 season against Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society in their Federation Cup opener Friday before facing holder Bashundhara Kings three days later.
