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Dooley tears into domestic football
"If you play against a low-level team and we don't make those mistakes, how do they learn? When you look at the goals we got against, you are marking on the wrong side. They have to learn that; nobody tells them."
COLLECTED PHOTO
Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley has delivered a scathing assessment of the country’s domestic football, warning that slow-paced league competition, poor fundamentals and inadequate training habits must change if his side are to challenge for the SAFF Championship title.
Following Tiger’s disappointing ASEAN Cup campaign in Jakarta, Dooley told Daily Sun the domestic league was failing to prepare players for the intensity of international football.
“Obviously, it is a slow pace. It is good for Bangladesh that they have a league, but it is not competitive at international level,” he said on Sunday, pointing to the greater intensity and crowd pressure in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
“You can kick and rush, kick the ball out. What do we gain out of this? Nothing. We would still lose six, seven, eight, nine-nil. So let us start playing because we want to learn,” he added.
His choice to play open football during the 13-goal nightmare in the ASEAN Cup, he insisted, was a harsh but needed lesson.
With limited options in the domestic pool, Dooley, however, is now looking overseas for attacking reinforcements ahead of the SAFF Championship in Dhaka.
“I am really fighting to get one of the Sullivan brothers, Ronan or Declan, over here, or Trevor Islam, the striker from college, or maybe the Irish kid,” he to Daily Sun.
He believes expatriate players, exposed to stronger competition and more demanding training environments, could significantly strengthen the side.
The former footballer also wants an extended training camp, stressing that technical improvement requires daily repetition.
“I want 50 days!” he joked. “You want to play guitar or piano, you have to play every day before you can play a little song. Football is the same thing.”
He further criticised social media pages for spreading misinformation, accusing them of damaging the country’s football environment and distracting players.
Despite the criticism and recent heavy defeats, Dooley insisted he remained focused on winning.
“No pressure. I feel pressure in every game because I want to win, no matter what. We have to win the SAFF. That is the most important thing,” he declared.