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Cruciani warns against complacency

Bangladesh begin title defence against lowly Bhutan today

AL MUSABBIR SADI from Karachi
Bangladesh launch their Fourth SAFF Championship campaign against rankoutsiders Bhutan at the People's Sports Complex Stadium here today.
The Group B
opener kicks off at 4.1 5pm Bangladesh time, which will be followed by the India-Nepal clash.
Bangladesh won their previous three meetings against the tiny mountain kingdom but coach Diego Andres Cruciani warned against any complacency ahead of his first
full international as Bangladesh coach.
The Argentine, who took over as national coach a couple of months ago, told reporters yesterday that starting a tournament against a weak team was always good but he was taking nothing for granted.
"For a coach, no team is an easy opponent. Many times small teams have upset big names. I don't care what people say about Bangladesh beating Bhutan by a big margin, I am too much serious about the match," the 41-year-old told Argentine at the Gymkhana ground during Bangladesh's first training session in Karachi.
"I won't mind if the boys score
many goals because goaldifference may play a big role in the end."
Cruciani has finalised his first eleven and he has given veteran Alfaz the job to play as the 'free midfielder' for his experience and current form.
"I had Ujjal in mind when I started training but Alfaz has impressed me. He is intelligent and has the experience to strike at any moment as well as passing the ball timely. He will be more useful as an attacking midfielder than a striker. Ujjal is like a 'joker' in a card game. He can play in any position and he is likely to come out any time.
"I need more efficiency from the
two forwards. They miss too many chances but I want them to find the target more.
"The defenders are very good but sometimes they show lack of sense without the ball. When my team attacks, they tend to follow the ball and forget the job to mark the opponent striker. We have to be watchful about counter attacks," added Cruciani.
When asked about Joy's knee injury, Cruciani said that he was satisfied with the physician's work on the Bangladesh captain.
However, Cruciani's biggest complaint was his lack of knowledge about his opponents.
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"I wanted some video footage of our opponents, but they were not available "
He was also a bit worried about the humidity in the port city as his players had already complained of sweating heavily.
"We play the second and third matches in the night so it would not be a problem. Today, we are here after a long journey. So we got a bit tired," said Joy, the new Bangladesh captain.
"Bhutan have never surprised anyone in this region. So, we will start as favourites. But we have to work hard on the field. We have a very strong team and I have my confidence in the boys," the defensive midfielder added.
"We don't have a chance to relax. Our first target is to secure a win and then go for goals. I need three points first."
Probable Bangladesh line-up (43-1-2): Aminul, Hassan Al Mamun, Sujan, Rajani, Titu, Arman, Joy, Alfaz, Kanchan and Farhad.