Bangladesh Must Treat Every Match as a Final to Be Champions, Says Aminul Haque
Bangladesh last won the SAFF Championship title in 2003, when Aminul Haque, now the youth and sports state minister, guarded Bangladesh's goal. With the SAFF Championship again being held in Bangladesh, he says the team must treat every match as a final if it wants to become champion.
Speaking at a sports awards ceremony, Aminul Haque said every match is a final for the team, a point he said he had also made the day before. If the target is to be champion and reach the final, he said, the team must play every match that way and leave the field with a win.
On the strategy against Pakistan, he said the coach understands best the approach the team used against Sri Lanka. The coach has already watched Pakistan play, Pakistan is a strong team, and the coach will decide the strategy and plan on match day, he added.
On the squad's injury problems, the former player, who won gold at the SAFF Championship and the SA Games, said there are some injury issues in the team, but injuries are part of football. The alternative players each have the ability to play in the best XI, he said, so the injury problem should not become too big an issue.
Bangladesh are playing in Group A of this year's SAFF Championship. The team has reached the semifinals after winning both of its group matches.
Bangladesh's semifinal opponent is Pakistan. Both semifinals will be played on November 14: India will face Bhutan in the first semifinal, before Bangladesh and Pakistan meet in the second.
