ASIAN GAMES AND SAFF CUP

Footballers start preparations under Brazilian trainer

By Our correspondent

KARACHI: Brazilian trainer Jose Roberto Portella Friday reached Lahore just hours before Pakistan team was set to begin its preparations for the Asian Games and SAFF Cup under floodlights of the Model Town Ground in Lahore.

This is the rare occasion that Pakistan has got the services of a foreign trainer. The camp, carrying around 56 home-grown players, is being conducted by the Brazilian coach Jose Antonio Nogueira who had arrived in Pakistan in April.

This is after three years that national footballers began their preparation for any international assignment. Pakistan missed international events during the last three years because of a conflict between Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and its rival group headed by former PFF secretary Arshad Lodhi. During the same period Pakistan also could not organise domestic events.

Nogueira has also picked his support staff. And it is a big plus as his support staff carries two former Pakistan’s captains Mohammad Essa and Jaffar Khan.

Essa, also an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) License B coach, is a welcome induction into the support staff of Pakistan team as the former playmaker’s presence with the team would be a huge boost.

Chaman-born Essa, who has been showered with several awards for his meritorious services for football during his illustrious career, was also member of the PFF Technical Study Group during the National Challenge Cup held in Karachi recently.

Jaffar has been kept in the support staff as goalkeeping coach. Jaffar has been the best goalie Pakistan has ever got and he has to his credit a record of remaining unbeaten under the cage in 16 Premier League matches on the trot.

Jaffar, who also did goalkeeping in the recently held National Challenge Cup for Army, has done AFC License C.

Nouman Ibrahim and Zahid Taj are the other goalkeeping coaches who will work during the camp. Both have already served with Pakistan team and are quite experienced. Nouman is AFC License A while Zahid is License B. Both have also done level-I goalkeeping coaching course in Bahrain.

Pakistan’s only pro-license coach Shehzad Anwar and License A coach Mohammad Habib are the others in Nogueira’s support staff.

Shehzad has already served as head coach of Pakistan team in the 2013 SAFF Cup in Nepal. Shehzad had been elevated to the post after PFF sacked former Pakistan’s Serbian coach Zavisa Milosavljevic after his side faced a humiliating defeat in an historic match against Afghanistan in Kabul.

In the first phase PFF has only kept home-based players. In the second phase which will begin after Eidul Fitr some foreign-based players will also join the camp.

They will also include Pakistan’s grown foreign-based players including Kaleemullah and Saddam Hussain who play in Turkey and Cyprus respectively.

Inside 15 days Nogueira plans to slash the strength in the camp to 40. In the Asian Games an under-23 team, along with three seniors, will be fielded while senior side will play in the SAFF Cup. Asian Games are slated to be held in Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2 while SAFF Cup will be held in Bangladesh from September 4.