‘Very special to represent Argentina here in Bangladesh’: Varela excited for MSC job

Fernando Santiago Varela was introduced as Mohammedan Sporting Club’s new coach today, with the Argentinian-Spanish coach revealing that it was an easy decision for him to choose Bangladesh as the next step in his coaching career.

Bangladesh boasts a huge fanbase for Argentina and Lionel Messi, and Varela was aware of the passion for football in the country -- something he pointed out as one of the reasons for taking up the new job.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

“I have been working in India since 2018, and I showed my value there. I also had an opportunity to come back for this year, and when Mohammedan SC called me, it was so easy for me to decide to come here because of the passion that the fans already have, the passion that football has here in Bangladesh,” Varela said at a press meet at the club premises.

“And for me, it's very special to represent Argentina here in Bangladesh,” added Varela, who missed an opportunity to coach a Bangladesh Premier League club in 2024.

Image

The 53-year-old coach also promised to bring an attractive style of football to the Black and Whites while targeting the Bangladesh Football League (BFL) and Federation Cup titles.

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.

“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.

Image

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.

Varela said he did not want to dwell on the late start and would instead focus on preparing the team for their next opponent, Fortis FC.

“I agree that it's not the best, but I always focus on the next step. I am not going to put the focus on how I came here, rather how I can be a good answer for the players, how I can give good information to the players to take advantage to face the next opponent,” he said.

“Today we were focused on Fortis FC, the next game we are going to play. This is our mentality, and go game by game. So this is my obsession.”