Members of Bangladesh national football team exit from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday after taking part in the SAFF Championship in Nepal. PHOTO: STAR

A dejected Bangladesh national football team returned home in two groups yesterday after being eliminated from the group stages of the SAFF Championship.
It was the second time in a row that they left the regional competition from the first round.
The booters looked gloomy on their way out of the VIP Lounge at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and all the players, excepting a couple of them, immediately took their seats on the reserved bus to hide from the awaiting press.
While media persons present at the airport were curious to learn about the reasons for the failure, it could be gathered that the other passengers on the flight from Kathmandu hardly showed any interest in the players. Seemingly an airport staff even questioned this reporter who they were.
Former national cricketer Hasanuzzaman Jhoru, a cabin crew of Bangladesh Biman, attended the booters on the flight and even he hardly talked to the booters. Jharu also expressed disappointment about the performance and was unwilling to say anything about the performance.
Assistant coach Rene Koster, who came with the first batch along with 16 players, tried to separate the positives and negatives of the three matches, but striker Zahid Hasan Emily and Atiqur Rahman Meshu blamed themselves for the debacle.
"Though there were some injury problems in the team, but overall we could not perform well. We could not play as a team," said Emily who believed they needed a bit of luck which was not with them.
"The coach is not responsible for such results, rather it's we, the players, who are to be blamed," said Meshu, who played all three matches and scored a goal against India.
According to Meshu, the players failed to get out of the pressure they took before the Nepal match and the full-house crowd at the Dasarath Stadium was also an extra pressure for them.
He also said they felt the absence of injured captain Mamunul Islam badly in the midfield as there was no replacement for the player who is a key man to build up the game and put up the ball to two wings for the attackers.