Goalkeeper’s role very important: Zico

Bangladesh national football team’s number one Anisur Rahman Zico stressed the importance of the back five ahead of their international friendly against Indonesia on Wednesday.

The FIFA tier-1 international friendly match will take place at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung in Indonesia.

Bangladesh squad, with the exclusion of Bashundhara Kings players, who were given a recover day, trained on Monday afternoon.

Zico believes that the goalkeepers must be on their toes and sync in well with the defenders to do well in big matches.

“The match against Indonesia will be very challenging. The goalkeepers have a big responsibility because in those big matches against strong opponents, the goalkeepers have to make significant contributions. The defenders also need to play a role,” Zico said on Monday.

“We can do something good if we can give our 100 per cent, he added.

Assistant coach Hasan Mamun discussed training methods and preparations with the team.

“Our main focus in training today was to organize in a low-block. Low block doesn’t mean that we will always stay behind, the coach wants us to make quick transitions from a low-block and make rapid counters,” he said.

“We have discussed individual roles and worked on our shape when the ball goes wide. Besides this we have worked on corners and set piece.

“We know Indonesia is a strong team, but we will use our strengths strategies accordingly. It’s a very important match for us,” he added.

In the other two international friendlies earlier in March, Bangladesh lost 2-0 against Nepal, and played a goalless draw against Mongolia.

Bangladesh will travel to Malaysia to play in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers after their encounter against Indonesia.

Javier Cabrera’s men will take on Bahrain on June 8, Turkmenistan on June 11, and will face hosts Malaysia on June 14.