In recent years Pakistani football fans have not witnessed many of its Europe based players going head to head against each other because there aren’t too many of them playing in higher leagues that too in same division. Last high profile clash saw Adnan Ahmed’s Huddersfield Town take on Zesh Rehman’s Brighton and Hove Albion in League 1.
The Danish 2nd Divisions 2011-12 East will see Yousuf’s BK Glostrup Albertslund take on Hassan’s Svebølle B&I, with Pakistan U23 goalkeeper Yousuf Butt going up against the fiery Hassan Bashir another hopeful of donning the green shirt in the next tournament. For Hassan it will be the first time he comes up against a fellow Pakistan player in the Danish Leagues whereas Yousuf has previously taken on his brother Yaqoob Butt (currently injured) when Birkerod Skjold took on in the Denmark Series in 2010-2011 season with Younger Butt coming on top with a 3-1 win and going on to gain promotion.
Things are now different for both Yousuf and Hassan, both have left their clubs from last season and have had mixed start to the season for various reasons. While BGA linger at the bottom of the table with just 1point, Hassan has scored and created goals on regular basis even missing few matches due to his trip to Pakistan. But Yousuf can takes positives from their recent performances while it is a learning curve for the young shot stopper who is also the vice captain and could well captain the side if his captain fails to recover in time. A very young and inexperienced team will have their work cut out after 5 of its players from the previous game will be unavailable due to injuries.
For Hassan it is all about moving on from his summer of ups and downs and looking forward to a good campaign before the winter break and SAFF Cup. Having missed the World Cup Qualifiers and then rejecting a contract offer from BBCU, a Thai First Division team due to family commitments and then settling at Svebolle for time being.
Svebolle may seem favorites due to the league standing but they are bound to face stiff competition from BGA and Yousuf in goal. Will he be able to keep Hassan at bay? We will all find out!