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Six of the eight head coaches at SAFF Championship 2013 will be featuring in this tournament for the very first time. Hence Afghanistan’s Yousef Kargar and Maldives’ Hungarian tactician Istvan Urbanyi could enjoy an advantage as they have been in charge at this competition previously.
Urbanyi is in his second spell at Maldives and guided the island nation to a runners-up finish in 2009 and lost in the semi-finals in 2011. The 46-year-old reluctantly admitted that he could have an edge over some of the coaches and is determined to win his first SAFF crown.
“Well it could be an advantage as I know the tournament well but more importantly I know the players well and they know me very well. We went close twice under me but this time we want to go all the way and bring the trophy back to Maldives,” Urbanyi said at the pre-tournament press conference on Friday.
Maldives have been tipped to reach the semi-finals from Group B which also boasts Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Urbanyi doesn’t want to look too ahead and is focusing on winning the first two matches against Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
“We have a good preparation although it has been a little different as we recently concluded a long domestic season. We cant think about the semi-finals and final now and are only looking to make a good start by winning our first two games,” he said.
For a few years, the SAFF Championship was expected to come down between Indian and Maldives but Afghanistan are the highest-ranked team in South Asia now while Bangladesh have also improved under Dutch coach Lodewijk de Kruif and hosts Nepal will also fancy their chances. So does Urbanyi feel it is the most competitive SAFF tournament in recent years?
“The real answer to that question will be known after the tournament but yes it is going to be competitive. It is always special playing in Nepal due to the altitude so we are looking forward,” Urbanyi added.
