Coach quest stuck between ambition and budget

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) was expected to announce the new foreign head coach of the national football team today, but uncertainty over funding has delayed the decision.

Appointing a coach for the next two years has been complicated, as the asking fees of top candidates exceed the BFF’s financial package, prompting the federation to seek partial support from the government.

BFF president Tabith Awal, who was scheduled to meet state minister for youth and sports Aminul Haque yesterday, is expected to meet him today to secure the government’s approval. The board had earlier sought partial financial assistance from the sports minister if the coach’s demand went beyond its affordability.

From an initial pool of 176 applicants, the BFF initially shortlisted 12 coaches and digitally interviewed 11 before narrowing the list to six. These reportedly included Christopher Patrick Coleman of Wales, Spain’s David Doniga, Argentina’s Juan Vita, and three Germans -- Bernd Storck, Antonie Hey, and Michael Nees.

The BFF president, also the head of National Teams Management Committee (NTMC), had interviewed two more coaches on Wednesday and made a three-member shortlist, claimed NTMC sources. The list consists of Coleman, Storck, and newly Brazil’s Olympic gold-winning coach Rogerio Micale -- the latter reportedly withdrew from the race after signing a contract with Brazil’s Serie B outfit, Londrina Esporte Club.

“We haven’t finalised the coach yet,” Awal told The Daily Star on Wednesday. “It’s like choosing a dress but waiting on the colour.” He added that only one coach’s demand exceeds the BFF’s budget, while the others are affordable with some government assistance.

It has been learned that the board is primarily pursuing Coleman, who led Wales to the Euro Championship semifinals. The 55-year-old has managed clubs including Fulham, Real Sociedad, Sunderland, and sides in China, Greece, Cyprus, and Belgium.

On the other hand, Storck, a former Borussia Dortmund player, served as assistant coach at VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, and Dortmund between 1994 and 2007, and has also managed national teams in Kazakhstan and Hungary.

As it appears, BFF is ready with its Plan B, as the likes of Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome, Topu Barman, and Sheikh Morsalin await a key development in their next step of evolution.