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Star-tracker no more

Anisur Rahman
He played for a number of clubs and then coached a number of mid-table teams when football was very popular in the country. He never played for the national team or coached one of the two big teams in the country - Abahani and Mohammedan. But Wazed Gazi will be remembered as one of the finest coaches Bangladesh has produced.
The soft-spoken tactician is no more. He died at his ancestral home in Jessore on Thursday morning, sending shockwaves through-
out the country's football fraternity. He was 80 and left behind two sons and a daughter who should be very proud of their father's contribution to the country's football.
Why he was popular as coach? He produced future stars in a spectacular journey he embarked upon as Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society coach in 1981. Along the way he coached Arambagh Krira Sangha, Muktijoddha Sangsad, Farashganj Sporting Club, Team BJMC, Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra and Brothers Union. He failed to win a single league title as coach.
But cynics say Wazed Gazi should have won at least one or two League titles with those young vibrant sets had his employers been not engaged in arranged affairs, an open-secret in Bangladesh's club culture.
It was through his strong and regimented way of teaching so many players made their mark and went all the way to become household names in country’s football. Kiaser Hamid, Imtiaz Sultan Johny, Aloke, Asish Bhadra, Ahmed, Rehan, Alfaz Ahmed and Zahid Hossain Emily to name a few.
He coached a few teams during the Professional Football League era, which was launched in 2008. But by that time he was not physi-
cally fit enough to comply with that demanding job. Besides, he was a bit frustrated with the decline of Bangladesh's football.
This reporter had an interview of Gazi in 2012 at the Wanderers Club in Motijheel. Unfortunately it was never published. He depicted football's past and present scenario in that conversation.
"It has always been a happy moment for me when 1 see the footballers whom I coached served the national team. I got everything in my playing and coaching career save the National Sports Award. Football is now walking backward as there is no football at the district level and the number of quality footballers has reduced. Due to a lack of quality players, foreign players have been increasing in domestic league. It feels really bad when 1 see the empty stadium. Match-fixing is a cancer of our football," he told this reporter then.
A left-winger, who played both for Mohammedan and Abahani, Gazi hung up his boots 1977 after a stint with BJMC. But the best of Gazi unfolded when he started to teach from what he has learnt. He never obtained a coaching licence, but more than compensated for it with his knowledge and dedication.