Kruif detects lack of fitness among local players

National head coach Lodewijk de Kruif expressed dissatisfaction over the fitness level of the players while speaking about his observations of the Super Cup. The coach was however, satisfied with the opportunity to analyse the locals in the Super Cup. “We are very happy with the opportunity, as there are no foreign players and we had the chance to see a few local players whom I did not know. I am not against the foreign players, but for us the tournament provided a good opportunity to see the players who were not picked for the first eleven in the league. We were not looking only for the national team, but also for the U-19 team. It provided a special view for us. Earlier it was all on BFF coaches who selected the national team, but this time we are able to see the players who met our choices” said the Dutch at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The fitness level of the players are a field of concern for the Dutch man. “The players were not fit as we already saw some cramps and that is not a good sign. I will not provide any information about any specific names, but I need fit players. The national team players were not in the level as they are expected to be. I don’t know what the reason is, maybe it is the lack of fitness,” opined de Kruif. The coach was happy to see some players who may fit in his attacking force of national team. “We have seen some players in the attacking zone though I will not mention any names. When we travelled to Nepal I found only Shakhawat Rony, but now I have found some other options.  I saw some good players and it is good that they will have to be good and sharp, or else other players will come in,” he said. De Kruif wanted to go slow and steady with his future plans. “I want to take the players to a different environment that will be helpful for them and I don’t want to play practice matches with superior ranked teams. Bangladesh is ranked around 160 so playing teams with rankings below hundred will not be very helpful. Maybe we can play them later. We will provide a list of around 35 players and we will work with them before we pick the final team,” concluded the Dutch head coach.