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After returning from a month-long vacation, Javier Fernández Cabrera is chalking up ways to regroup Bangladesh for the FIFA window opener against Afghanistan in September.
It will be followed by Bangladesh’s mission in Asian Games, the first round of World Cup qualifiers in October, when they face the Maldives in the opening round,
The Spaniard began by how well he spent his 33 days in hiatus then went on to elaborate on his ideas about lifting Bangladesh to a respectable height.
Speaking in an interview with bdnews24.com, he said: “You can see that I am already taking notes while speaking. I will now download several Afghanistan matches and scrutinise them to come up with a plan. As I want to start off the training on Aug 20, I want to keep these prepared by then.”
The venue for the matches, scheduled for Sept 4 and Sept 7, was not yet fixed and the speculation is that it would be set once Cabrera returns from vacation.
“We have yet to set the venue for the matches. Actually, a lot of things factor into it. The ground has to be good, the presence of the audience is also a plus for us. But the decision will come soon enough, maybe Sylhet or somewhere else.”
On whether the matches against Afghanistan were the main focus right now, he said: “Things are not like that. Because we will face them at first, our plan is to do well against them. Then we have the Asian Games. But our main target is the World Cup qualifiers in October, the match against the Maldives.
Cabrera stressed that when his team will take to the field it would be with a winning mindset. “In the friendly against Cambodia, the opponents did not allow us to play our game -- which turned out to be a good thing for us. It made us think about things in a new light before SAFF Championship and we did well there.”
“We beat the Maldives and Bhutan, but lost against strong teams like Lebanon and Kuwait, but we still played well.”
Cabrera pointed out that many Afghan players play in European leagues. “This will be a good thing for us. If they have players who play in Germany, Sweden or other European countries, then it would be a good challenge for our men, they’ll be able to learn. It will also help us in the qualifiers. Personally, I think we’ll be able to ”
Cabrera drew inspiration from Bangladesh’s performance against Kuwait and Lebanon in the SAFF Championship. “I think 2023 will be a year for all our supporters to remember.”
When asked how supporters would respond if Bangladesh did not win a trophy in 2023, Cabrera said: “We did not win the SAFF Championship, but we did play well. If we do well in the World Cup qualifiers, that would be something to remember as well.”
Speaking about the plans Cabrera wants to employ, he said: “We played quite a few matches this year, and many more are ahead. We have to play FIFA window matches regularly. Aside from those games, we need to organise friendly matches of our own as well.
On how he feels about the renewal of the contract with the Bangladesh Football Federation for a year, he said: “That’s not how I see the matter. I’m satisfied with the one-year extension of the contract.”
"You see, if I had a long-term contract and the team did not do well, I would’ve had to look for a way out. I’m working as I’d like to and the federation is keeping an eye on everything. If all the parties are happy, that works for me.”