Hamza lands, Bangladesh whips up a frenzy | Goa News

Panaji: Hamza Choudhury’s arrival in Bangladesh earlier this week, sparked a never-before frenzy for a footballer in south Asia. The midfielder’s car was mobbed by supporters, everyone wanted a piece of him, a touch, a selfie, good enough even if he caught the eye. And there was so much Hamza had to do, including, among other things, a meeting with the adviser for Youth and Sports to the Interim Government. All this, before the team left for India for the opening group clash of the Asian Cup 2027 final round qualifiers on Thursday.
Hamza, 27, you could say, is no ordinary footballer. No Lionel Messi, but with 57 Premier League appearances for Leicester City until January this year, he’s the highest profile footballer to represent a south Asian country in internationals.
Until his loan move to Championship side, Sheffield United in Jan, the Foxes academy graduate was the only British Asian playing in the Premier League in over two decades. Zesh Rehman, of Pakistani origin, was the first British Asian to start a Premiership match, turning out for Fulham in 2003. The Birmingham-born Rehman chose to represent hosts Pakistan at the 2005 SAFF Championship – a tournament where incidentally, a 20-year-old striker called Sunil Chhetri made his international debut for India. Rehman went on to make 22 appearances for the Pakistan national team, even captaining the side.
On Thursday it was a similar feeling towards the east of the region. “It feels like our Messi is here,” Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan told reporters during the team’s official media briefing prior to Thursday’s departure. “The excitement is five times greater than when I first arrived. Hamza is a Premier League player, it’s a huge boost for us,” added Bhuyan.
Bhuyan’s own story is equally fascinating. After showing promise as a junior in Denmark, he was on the verge of breaking into the senior team when he was caught in the crossfire of gang-related gunfire in Danish capital, a bullet hitting his head and putting him into coma. His career slowed down, and in 2013, he eventually returned to Bangladesh. Five years later, he rose to become captain.
Hamza is even more special.
Born to a Grenadian father and a Bangladeshi mother, Hamza made seven appearances for England Under-21s and chose to represent Bangladesh in senior international football, thanks to his ancestry. The defensive midfielder is expected to make his international debut against India in Shillong on Tuesday.
India go into the fixture on dint of a 3-0 friendly win against the Maldives on Wednesday. There were two goals from set-pieces; Rahul Bheke scored in his second successive game, Liston Colaco scored his first in India colours, but more importantly, Sunil Chhetri, coaxed out of retirement at 40 by coach Manolo Marquez, showed just why he can still be counted to deliver.
For Bangladesh, who would have been watching closely, it’s Hamza who they are counting upon.
“You can’t compare Sunil Chhetri to Hamza. Sunil has done great things for India, but let’s be honest, Hamza is a Premier League player,” said Bhuyan, the poster boy of Bangladesh football, until Hamza’s arrival.
At 185th, Bangladesh is the lowest-ranked team in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers group, which also has Hong Kong and Singapore. But Hamza’s inclusion has raised hopes of qualification to the continental showpiece for the first time.
“One player cannot fully change one team, but it’s true that Hamza’s inclusion has raised expectations around the national team,” former Bangladesh national team coach Oscar Bruzon told TOI. Now with East Bengal, Bruzon spoke of the edge Hamza’s presence adds. “When you have a player from the Premier League, the standards rise and the players around you are motivated to do their best. The advantage for Bangladesh is more psychological,” he said.
Bruzon is no stranger to football in Bangladesh. In the five years that he spent there, he won the Bangladesh Premier League four times with Basundhara Kings and, in addition to his club duties, took charge of the national team.
“Bangladesh has strong players (physically), but they are missing a little bit of creativity in the middle. Hamza can play centre-back or defensive midfield, but I think they will try and bring him forward (more). There will be changes in some patterns of play. He is definitely of a different level, so everyone will have to adapt and adjust on the pitch.
“Hamza will be very motivated,” pointed out Bruzon, “The craze is unbelievable. I don’t think adaptation will be difficult because Bangladesh already has some technically good players. Tariq Kazi (Finland), for example, is young and talented defender. They are looking for others too playing in higher leagues — Quinn Sullivan (United States) and Shamit Shome (Canada) are some of the names we keep hearing.”