Spanish coach leads team to fourth soccer title in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Jan 11 (efe-epa).- Spanish soccer coach Oscar Bruzon guided the Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh to the Federation Cup title, marking their four consecutive trophy during his three seasons in charge of the club.

The Kings defeated Saif Sporting Club by one goal in the finals on Sunday to claim their the second consecutive Federation Cup under the Galician coach.

Besides the two Federation Cup trophies, under Bruzon, the team has also won Independence Cup and the league title in 2018-2019.

This has been a formidable feat for a club that was promoted to first division only in 2018, which prompted the team owners to invest in a new team having several important international players and led by the Spanish coach.

“The satisfaction is that we are doing things in a different way. I think Bangladesh football community used to see a very traditional structure (in this sport) and all these political links but our clubs brought professionalism here,” Bruzon told EFE on Tuesday.

“As a result, in the last three years we are champions of everything, four consecutive titles, (literally) all the titles in Bangladesh,” he added.

Since their promotion to the top division, the Kings have failed to win the title in just one competition – the Federation Cup in their maiden season when they lost to the traditional powerhouse Dhaka Abahani in the final.

However, the Kings soon dethroned the six-time Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champion, becoming the new favorite club of soccer lovers in the country.

Bruzon joined the Kings in August 2018 after having coached the Maldives’s New Radiant Club to their league title.

The Spaniard has extensive experience of coaching in the sub-continent as he coached India’s Sporting de Goa between 2013 and 2015 and served as an assistant coach under former French international Nicolas Anelka in Indian Super League side Mumbai City.

However, the Spaniard found soccer in Bangladesh to be more challenging and much more competitive.

“In India, there were four-five good teams, in Maldives three good teams but here in Bangladesh you can find seven or eight teams that are really, really competitive, so the league is balanced here,” he explained.

After tasting success in the first two seasons, the club reinforced its lineup with Argentine striker Raul Becerra, Brazilian striker Robson Azevedo da Silva (Robinho), Brazilian midfielder Jonathan da Silveira Fernandes, and Iranian defender Khaled Shafiei.

This has allowed Bruzon to set the bar even higher.

“In all departments, we have different professionals, there is a team bonding and strong belief that our club can do well not only in Bangladesh but international competitions,” he said. EFE-EPA

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