Dido sacked as head football coach

Dhaka, Nov 9 (bdnews24.com)--Bangladesh Football Federation has sacked Brazilian Edson Silva Dido as the head coach of the national football team.

Dido has been replaced by Shahidur Rahman Shantoo, with Saiful Bari Tito being his deputy. Satyajit Das Rupu will helm the team as manager.

The BFF at an emergency meeting of the executive committee made the decision.

The team picked up by Dido has been dissolved as well and the training camp suspended.

National team management committee member Hasanuzzaman Bablu told bdnews24.com, "We sacked Dido in national interest. He made a team excluding six to seven key players.

"We failed to make him understand and finally the executive committee took the decision."

The decision came just before SAF championship.

Chief of national team management committee Badal Roy told bdnews24.com, "We failed to change his (Dido) mind after several tries.

"We have been forced to accept his committee as he was claiming transparency in selection on Sunday. But our thinking is that his selected team would not play better even in the first round of upcoming SAF championship.

"It's a B team. We sacked him in national interest."

Dido told bdnews24.com, "I heard that they have fired me but I have not been formally informed."

The BFF signed a one-year with the Brazilian on Jan 31.

The excluded players are defender Rajani Kanta Berman, goalkeeper Biplob Bhattacharya, midfielders Arman Aziz, Zahed Parvez, Zahid Hossain, Mofazzel Hossain and Ariful Islam.

Eight footballers had boycotted training at the residential camp at BKSP in last July defying Dido. Later, he insisted on their staying out of the national fold.

bdnews24.com/sa/gma/bd/2319h.