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How far can we go?
19 August 2006 | By: Hussain Sinan
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All pressure on one man: Ashfaag needs some support.
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How far can Maldives go in 10th SA Games? This would be the million dollar question at this instance! Can u answer this question? I would say, if you do, then you would be awarded million dollars. The reason behind it is the lack of creativity in the striking force and the ‘main’ target of the Maldivian under 23 team.
During the SAFF Championship which was played in Karachi, Pakistan, Maldives team defeated Afghanistan by 9-0 and then defeated the Sri Lankans by 2-0 and then had a draw against the mighty Pakistan. And then got thrown out of the tournament by a defeat against the Indians. The main problem most of the analysts noted for the downfall of Maldives was the lack of creativity and Ashfaaq factor. This plays a huge role in Maldives football at the time being assuming that Ashfaaq would do everything for the Maldivian Team and would win the game for Maldives.
Whether you believe it or not! It’s happening at the moment even. Would this be the downfall of the Maldives team. I guess it would be. Ashaaq, the captain of Maldives surely is a gifted player, but I guess the Maldives so far has not utilized his ability, his tactics. Playing all the balls to him would not solve the miseries of the Maldivian Team. The fact that he is marked by at least two defenders does not give any hint to the players. But still, every single ball is played to him!!!
Maldives team so far has worked two tactics in both the matches. Against Sri Lankans and the Bhutanese, the team tried to pass the ball to Ashfaaq and left him to create the break through. Next thing was to dribble and penetrate inside the penalty area. But both the tactics has not worked so far.
What Sadun, the experienced keeper and captain of Sri Lanka, said after Maldives match was not a joke.
'We knew that Maldivian game plan will be mostly based on Ashfaaq. I told the defenders to mark him closely as he would dribble the ball when he gets it. '
'It would have been better if Maldives team used other players in attack more.'
The worst mistake done by the coaching staff was to keep the experienced goal keeper, Areesh on the bench and to introduce Ifrah who had one or two matches under his belt in Valencia this season.
But the coaching staffs have refused the claims. Goal keeper trainer, Fesco said to maldivesoccer.com that Ifrah has performed exceptionally well in the practice matches, so they wanted to give him the chance
But the truth is practice matches are completely different compared to the tournament matches and nervousness would be a huge factor. After the goal Ifrah did not manage to hold on to any of the balls which were crossed inside the penalty area.
Maldives so far has played better individually compared to any of the other teams in the tournament. But that’s not enough. There was not even a single shot taken outside the penalty area, instead it was ‘penetrate’ and ‘penetrate’. The key to glory I guess.
Everyone, including my self wish Maldives team to get the gold. It’s the only sport which the Maldivians feel they have the chance. It could be felt even in the media box, when Assad scored. The six journalists from various media who are present to cover the event jumped with ecstasy including my self. But the real question at the time is, how far will the Maldivian under 23 go, with the current form?
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User Comments |
hello,
i guess the reporter or any users comment have given the right answer, i guess all most all the teams depend on 2 to 3 players... as the reporter said in the saff championship .. maldives was not based to dhagey , it was to the best 4 stikers in maldives ( oppo,dhagey,aliumar and tom) but all including the media of pakistan said those 4 players were the best in the tournament, but those for specially dhagey and tom play like there are only two in the field ... i am sure coaches dont say to do so ...and about the ashfag factor its the way of his game that he most of the time plays alone... not only me all of you have seen him playing for club as well as national team.. he only pass to players he trust(aliumar when he was playing valencia and oppo aliumar and tom when he is playing for new and national side) or if he has no chance to do some thing with the ball or too much tired..
dont aresenal depend on henry? realmadris on ronaldo? chelsea on lampard? barcelona on ronaldinho?
so its not some thing that bad maldives to depend on dhagandey ?
i only give dhagey a advice through this website , come on dhagey give some respect to fellow players and help them to get a better result.if you cant get them to do the job.
i hope a win and i am sure the 23 crowd can do it in 21st. - guess who
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Today, nobody is a journalis unless you criticize. So a good journalist is expected to say something even if you dont know what to say. I have to agree with Mald in many ways. i agree with maldivesoccer that the coach is not very good. But what is not good is also when someone other than the coach picks the team. - Gulf
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I agree with the writer. Maldives is repeating the same mistake again and the selfish play of Ashfaq is leading to the downfall. He cannot beat 11 on his own and better use his head and pass the ball more to his colleagues. Do we really have a game plan? Yeah, only one. Get the ball and pass it to Dhagey, which is quite easy for opponents to counter. The coach has so far been disappointing, but there are enough people experienced in the bench like Addo so they better do something or else, this will be just another tournament. - Issey
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How come we say this article is a joke?. Look at what happened in the past. how the team has been ruined by the media's praise is not a secret. We shud not only talk abt the good thing, we shud also talk abt the loop holes then only it will be improved. If everyone says, the team is best then there's nothing to improve. Look how weak New Radiant was under Niyaz this season, they only depend on Dhagadey at that time, but when Goffa comes he changed it, now new radiant is not a one man show, it's an 11 man show. What is said in this article is very true and I'm happy that maldivesoccer has this courage to publish a constructive criticism at this point. - meekaaku
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your article is a joke. are you telling the people who are experienced coaches and been with the team for a longer time than you guys whom to pick. as soon as areesh lets in a easy goal, you wil say otherwise. we have seen this kind of story before. think twice before u write. dont try to create problems in the team at this stage - mald
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yeh, absolutely true. Football is not an individual game. why 11 players are on field? Everybdoy knows that Ashfaq is an outstanding player and they are marking him very closely. - ismael
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