With the SAFF Championship set to kick off on November 5 at the National Stadium, members of Bangladesh’s 2003 SAFF Championship-winning and 2010 South Asian Games gold-medal-winning squads took part in a friendly match at the same venue on Sunday, hoping to inspire the current national team ahead of the tournament. source: thedailystar.net

A majority of players from both sides, including State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque, turned up for the short-sided match. Despite the passage of time and the effects of age, their touch, movement, dribbling and passing still brought back memories of their glory days at the ‘Big Bowl’.

Legendary forward Alfaz Ahmed remained a threat in front of goal, while Arman Mia displayed impressive ball control and picked out defence-splitting passes for the 2003 SAFF champions. Zahid Hasan Emily, Mamunul Islam, Enamul Haque, Zahed Hossain, Mithun Chowdhury and Nasirul Islam also showed glimpses of the quality that had made them household names.

Nasirul gave the 2010 South Asian Games gold-medal-winning side the lead before Alfaz equalised from the penalty spot. Mithun then struck the winner to seal an entertaining victory for the 2010 team.

“Winning gold medals at the 1999 and 2010 South Asian Games and the 2003 SAFF Championship were three major achievements. I was part of both the 2003 SAFF-winning and 2010 South Asian Games-winning teams. We wanted to inspire the current national team by arranging this match ahead of their SAFF campaign on November 5,” Aminul said after the game.

“Winning or losing today’s match was not important. Rather, we wanted the current players to show the same commitment that we showed in 2003 and 2010 on home soil. We hope they will give everything for the country, driven by patriotism,” added Aminul, who was Bangladesh’s goalkeeper during both triumphs.