Cabrera leaves Bangladesh, so do Hamza-Shamit
Just hours after Bangladesh's defeat against Singapore in an AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture, coach Javier Cabrera as well as foreign-born players -- Hamza Choudhury and Shamit Shome -- departed Dhaka, confirmed a key member of the team's management.
Hamza and Shamit left early in the morning on a Turkish Airlines flight for England and Canada respectively, as per their pre-scheduled itinerary. Their flight was at 6:00am, and they left the team hotel at around 4:00am. Shamit had arrived in Dhaka on June 4 after completing a league match for Cavalry FC and played the international fixture within days of landing. Hamza, though his club season in England has concluded, returned home ahead of the new season.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
Italian-born midfielder Fahmidul Islam, meanwhile, has gone to Feni this morning to spend a week with his family.
Shortly after the players' departure, head coach Javier Cabrera also left for Spain. His abrupt exit, particularly after a match that drew heavy scrutiny over his tactical decisions, has raised eyebrows among football followers as well as within the team management.
Many expected a detailed debrief or at least internal review sessions with the federation before his departure. Instead, the coach opted to fly home, a move not unprecedented. Following the recent away match in Shillong, Cabrera had similarly left Dhaka the very next day.
Cabrera's physical absence in Dhaka has become a recurring theme. Over the past two and a half months, he has spent only about three weeks in the country, choosing to remain in Spain even during the peak months of domestic football in April and May. He arrived in Dhaka only a week before the national training camp began on May 30 and selected the squad by relying largely on online footage and reports from his coaching staff.
When asked about this issue at the start of the training camp, the coach had claimed that he had "watched all the matches of the domestic competitions" through videos provided by the BFF. That explanation barely pleased anyone who are familiar with the quality of broadcast of the Bangladesh Premier League matches, most of which are held outside the capital.
The source inside the team management raised questions about the some of the choices made by the coach in this game – both in team selection and playing positions, categorically saying that he was surprised by the "non-picking of performers from the Bhutan game" and the position of Rakib Hossain, who "played all the season as a right-winger."
The person also expects that a National teams' Committee meeting will be held soon, with Cabrera at present at least virtually, where the performance of the team and the coaching staff will be evaluated.
Comments