Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club head coach Maruful Haque hopes his charges will cash in on the experience of playing against the Japan Under-21 football team recently when the Bangladesh Premier League champions take on K-League side Busan IPark in a friendly at Bangabandhu National Stadium tomorrow.
Maruf appeared to have a clear concept of the South Korean top-flight club. “I have seen a couple of their matches. More or less they play the same pressing football like Japan. A good number of my players, especially the defence, represent the national side. I hope they will carry their form into this match and cope with the pressure.”
The 45-year-old tactician emphasised on the importance of a quick passing display against the former AFC Champions League winners. “Busan IPark are technically and tactically superior than us. We have to rely on teamwork-based quick passing football. There is the option of inserting three foreign players and upfront I intend to hold the ball – an aspect that was missing in the Japan match.”
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has taken a number of initiatives with a view to pack the big bowl.
Around 20 moving vans have been simultaneously selling the match-ticket and the BFF Development Fund lottery tickets across the capital city. The ticket price has been set at Tk30 for the gallery and Tk60 for the VIP stands. Every ticket will be accompanied by a free lottery ticket for the consumer. Large banners have been hung on a number of foot-over bridges across the capital. “We were quite encouraged with the audience during the Japan U-21-Bangladesh friendly. We took a number of initiatives to take the match to the spectators. The same steps have been taken for the spectators of this match. We hope the match will be an entertaining one,” BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag said yesterday.
