Style, titles: Varela’s targets for Mohammedan

Argentinian-Spanish coach Fernando Santiago Varela was introduced as Mohammedan Sporting Club’s new coach yesterday, with the 53-year-old promising to bring an attractive style of football to the Black and Whites while targeting the Bangladesh Football League (BFL) and Federation Cup titles.

Varela, who arrived in Dhaka in the early hours of Sunday, was unveiled before the media at the club premises in the afternoon. Having worked with several Indian clubs since 2018 -- including Gokulam Kerala FC, Churchill Brothers FC, Sreenidi Deccan FC, Bengaluru United FC and Sporting Club de Goa -- the coach said he would select his starting eleven based on training performances rather than the reputation of the club’s national team players.

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“Even if we have national team players with us, I have to check out who is better, who is ready to play the next game. That is my way, and that is my way to push them for their position,” Varela said.

“They will fight for each position, and they will fight in every training to be better, to try to compete for the next game.”

Mohammedan have assembled a strong squad with nine national team players and six members of different age-group national teams as they seek to reclaim the league title they won in the 2024-25 season.

Varela, however, wants the team’s quality to be reflected in an entertaining style of play.

“We are going to give you a style so you feel that we are playing something that is good to watch, and we will try to fight for the title, for sure,” he said.

The coach faces an immediate challenge, though, as Mohammedan began their preparations only last week, after most of the other teams had already completed longer or shorter preparations and the first round of the league had been played.