In an exclusive interview to FootballPakistan.Com after the Pakistan team’s 8-0 practice match win over Model Town FC (MTFC) at MTFA Ground in Lahore, Pakistan Head Coach Tariq Lutfi said he was confident of a positive result in the WC qualifier against Bangladesh later this month but was disappointed on the cancellation of a foreign preparatory trip.
”If we can make 16 chances against a better Malaysia side, we should be confident of a performance against Bangladesh. If would have been better if we could go to Qatar but we couldn’t and it would’ve been much better preparation if we could play strong teams in UAE and Qatar than the local teams we have here. The harder the preparation is the finer you can tune the squad.
When asked about the guys at his disposal he said, ”The boys are in good touch, we have Ahmed Akber Khan in the mid-field and he is doing well, Atif and Zesh will make the defence solid. The front line is better with Rasool coming in with Arifi. With Adnan and Rizwan playing well in mid-field, we are confident of a good show.
He praised the FPDC staff for the promotion of Football in Pakistan and said that the group is doing a great job in spreading football news amongst the Pakistani masses.
FPDC also caught up with GK coach Aslam Khan who was confident of a good show by Jaffer Khan following his return to the squad. When asked why Sakib and Muzammil were not in camp, he said he has sent them with the junior squads to play and get real exposure. He said that he wishes Amir Gul and Muhammad Omer a speedy recovery from injury but is not worried as Jaffer is a veteran with loads of international experience.
The team is looking good, and seems to be ready for a good performance against Bangladesh… Hoping that this combined new team will really put Pakistan Football on the map, and gives Bangladesh a beating haha. Really looking forward to this match, and hopefully further matches. New players seem to be doing well according to Lutfi.
Will nabil aslam and Hassan Bashir be playing against Bangladesh
Nope. they both are not in squad ..
please get rid of the Old goal keeper… Get some good goalie in.. its world cup qualifiers and we are preparing for the WC.. its not Wapda versus Krl for God sake.. hes not a goood goalie at all, iv seen him playing. get yousuf butt in or omar… .
There is a hidden news that The coach has been offered a handsome amount by Mr. Jaffar khan to name him in the squad…Mr jaffar wants to stay in the team up till the UK tour, and wants to travel with the team to UK where he intends to slip…. This is a major news coming out from one of the top officials in PFF,, who is acually my relative. shame ….
can we laugh?
@ Katherina Khan… No comments on ur news… if it turns out to be true than the coach needs to be kicked in the butt-hole…
but if this isn’t true than u need to be kicked in the same place…
Hey Guys,
Please come and watch this team train, the guys are all putting in the effort and the coach is doing his best to put the strongest team forward.
We all know its WCQ, no one is there to muck around or make the team lose.
Lutfi is a good coach and is not biased, the players are in good spirits and are all getting along very well.
Seriously come and watch the team play, they are currently in Islamabad and will have a few games there before going to Dhaka.
Comments made about Jaffer Khan, i think that is unfair, he is a nice guy and putting in just as much effort as the other players to make the squad.
can we have the list of players selected for bangladesh tie ?
not final yet
Rehan Munir of Karachi United report in the camp ?
@riaz: hee didnt join the camp..
@Katherina khan: for ur kind information, Mr.jaffer khan the first goalie of Pakistan army who got third position in the PMC cup 2011 and he was awarded the best goalie of the tournament. and hussnain the top hunt of striker for pakistan who has scored in final and was the best player of tournament and belong to KRL also got his position in this camp and both are performing their best in the camp. jhangir khan is also in the camp the goalie of KESC and the team who got second position in the CUp 2011.
so kindly confirm your news and we will talk with that person. Kindly stop giving these kind of funny rumors in such a prestigious forum. May Allah show you the right path.
regards.
Zaka gondal
Jaffar khan might have won some prizes at DOMESTIC level,, but he still cant match the skills and reflexes of the goal keeper who played against the Asia Champs Iraq, if we all remember.. cant remember his name.. Yousuf butt is also technically sound but needs experience and exposure. Iv played in england for notts county back in the late 80’s and also in Kuwait ,and see a huge difference between goal keepers in pakistan and in other countries….Jafar khan is not of international caliber..
Hi Wajahat Ali,
if you are so much into football that you’ve played at Notts county & Kuwait; then why don’t you help Pakistan football.
You can play a positive role in the coaching department with our clubs & other areas. That is, if you are living in Pakistan…
iltaf ahmed
you can even apply for a national team coach or an assistant we know that jaffer .mkhan has lost the spark he used to have 3 to 4 years back hes old but we have a good keeper m. omer short but hes good enough u should hav seen in he malaysia game and the palistine series but he needs some time for maturity also tell us ur qualification in coaching we need pakistanis from abroad
Thank you all for your suggestions,, i have been in touch with Model town Football academy chairman Rizwan malik back in 2008, but did not recieve a positive response.. i also came to Pakistan to play for the national team along with my brother who played in Kuwait at the time for a club called Salmiyah football club which is a top rated club in kuwait. we got selected for the 1998 world cup qualifiers, . But the Pakistan football federation was also too late to reply to us to inform us about our selection. By that time , we had left the country..In my football career i have played for Notts County, Leicester United and at the moment I am a Level A coach training young kids and also play for Netherfield Albion football club..What is more, i have played with Peter Shilton .. The england goal keeper in the world cups of 1986-1990…. coming back to the point of coming to Pakistan and coach departmental teams,, so being practical, the departments may not be able to pay me as much money as I am earning in Uk at the moment.. I also offered a free trial base coaching for the National team but again I recieved no response from anyone… These are the demotivating factors which has let many other Pakistanies living abroad not to play for Pakistan.. I have seen Omer goal keeping ,, He has good potential…His reflexes are better than Yousuf Butt and far better than Jaffar Khan,, but its up to the selectors and the coach who know what is best for the team… But I would still be obliged to help Pakistan football reach its top level. but for that we need to sit and make a plan.. which no one in the PFF is ready to do ..
yes ,, the goalie name was iltaf Ahmed..he was brilliant..i guess he was from Denmark…I have great love for this beautiful game and i really wish if he comes back to the team along with Zesh, adnan farooq, Atif Bashir, M.Eessa (i grade him as a great passer of the ball ) naveed akram,, the guy named riaz afridi is also good.. i saw him playing against Palestine…. he has a good potential… We nned to be strong against Bangladesh as they are a better team specially when they play against Pakistan…. best of luck Pakistan Football.
Thanks Wajahat for following Pakistan football so closely…..
This is our PFF & the body needs to be improved. People like Wajahat Ali & Rehan Mirza needs to be in the coaching side or the Management side of the National team. As these guys have nothing to gain in Pakistan, they are earning alot in UK & elsewhere. They are living a beautiful & peaceful life outside Pakistan.
Why do you think you would take all that hazel & travel all the way… change your ongoing normal routine life & take risks where it’s not worth a penny?
They are doing all these just for the sake of Football & solely for the sake of this country ‘PAKISTAN’.
Appreciate these people as they have no selfish personnel gains, its purely patriotic thing…
Love these kind of people & urge them to come to Pakistan, utilize their expertise & help Pakistan football.
even nas bashir should be called up for future youth teams coaching and scouting he has also been said to produce first team players from reading youth acadmeys
if the pff has a lot of financial problems so they should hire coaches who have coached african teams hey might be comparitively economicical