Bangladesh Football Coach Thomas Dooley Tells Critics to Write About Cricket Instead

Many supporters are not happy with the recent performance of the Bangladesh football team. Added to that are Bangladesh's poor performance in the ASEAN Cup and the heavy defeat against Indonesia. Head coach Thomas Dooley has faced much discussion and criticism over this, and he says he is aware of it.

Speaking about the critics, Dooley said they perhaps prefer cricket. That is why they should write about cricket, not about football.

The German coach spoke to the media on the third day of preparations for the SAFF Championship. On the criticism on social media and on keeping faith in the players, he said he knows such discussion takes place. But everyone who wants to win must be part of the team. Football is a team game: journalists want to win, the team wants to win, the players want to win and the coaching staff wants to win, and everyone wants to perform at their best.

Dooley said they are not robots and everyone makes mistakes. Journalists make mistakes, he makes mistakes, everyone does. They hope the opponent will also make mistakes and that they will be able to take advantage of those opportunities, and that is how they prepare.

The Bangladesh coach said he has more than 44 years of experience at the highest level of football. In that long period he has had much success, and the main thing behind success has always been the same: working together as a team.

Addressing those who want to write negatively about his team, he said that when they work as a team, some may want to belittle them or speak negatively. But those who truly want success should support the team.

He added that if someone wants to write something bad about this team, perhaps that person prefers cricket to football. Then they should write about cricket, not football, because football needs people who will stand beside the team with a positive attitude.

Dooley is nevertheless willing to accept criticism. He said that if they play badly, they can certainly be criticized, and everyone has the right to criticize. But the reality of the match against Indonesia must be understood: there was a big difference in quality, in ranking, between the two teams, and anyone who understands football well knows there is much to learn from such a match as well.

He said they have already held many meetings, and three or four more will be held on this. Why it happened, why they made these mistakes, and why a player could not mark an opponent properly all need to be discussed, because to improve they must learn. To do better in life, one must learn every day, and that effort of theirs continues.

Hoping for a positive attitude from everyone, the Bangladesh coach said he wants everyone to keep a good mentality, to be happy to be with the team and to fight for the country: to play for the country's people, the supporters, the federation, their own families and their own dreams. Everyone needs this mentality.

Dooley said his own career has also seen many failures. But when ego takes over, when someone thinks only of himself, problems arise. Likewise, if only negative matters are highlighted in the media and hateful remarks are made about a person or a player, that is also harmful. Players are not robots; they have thoughts, a heart, families and feelings, so everyone must be responsible toward them. He believes success is possible if everyone works together, but if everyone walks separate paths, success becomes much harder.