Brazilian coach arrives today to begin three-year tenure

KARACHI: The newly-hired Brazilian football coach Jose Antonio Nogueira will arrive here on Wednesday (today) to begin his stint as Pakistan coach.

The 52-year-old will stay here till May 10 to witness the ongoing PFF National Challenge Cup to pick players for the camp for Asian Games and SAFF Championships. The Asian Games will be held in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2. The SAFF Cup will be conducted by Bangladesh in September.

Jose is an experienced coach, having coached teams both at home and abroad. He has worked with Al-Ahli, a professional club in Saudi Arabia.The PFF has hired his services for three years with assistance from Bahrain Football Association (BFA).

Jose will also work as head of the youth teams. In a video message, Jose said that he would make Pakistan a strong side of Asia.Jose replaces Mohammed Shamlan of Bahrain who served Pakistan until April 2015 when a conflict between two factions of PFF emerged and stifled the country’s football.

It will be tough for Jose to raise a better side as national players have turned rusty due to inactivity during the last three years.Pakistan return to the international circuit after three years with the Asian Games.

In the Asian Games an under-23 team, with four senior players, will be fielded. In the SAFF Cup, the senior side will be tested.Few expect Pakistan to do well at the Asian Games, which is always a tough assignment for the country, but they might do something at the SAFF Cup in which the country once gained the third position.

A Technical Study Group (TSG), headed by experienced coach Siddique Sheikh, has already started short-listing players for the camp. Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Essa is part of the group.