Lodewijk de Kruif and Rene Koster have returned to Bangladesh football—not as head coach and assistant, but in new roles that echo with experience and unfinished business.
De Kruif, who once stood on the touchline as the head coach of the Bangladesh national team, is back as the BFF Technical Director. At his side, again, is his trusted lieutenant, Rene Koster, now appointed as the Development Coach. Time has passed, but the fire they left behind still smoulders in the hearts of many fans. Their names evoke memories of ambition, change, and a time when Bangladesh dared to dream bigger.
Their previous spell was not just a coaching stint—it was a bold chapter. It was De Kruif and Koster who opened the doors for foreign-based players like Jamal Bhuyan, Riasat Khaton, and Ananda Rahman to be considered for the national team. Jamal didn’t just make the squad—he became its heartbeat, its captain, and a symbol of the diaspora’s power.
De Kruif had more radical ideas. He once proposed naturalising foreign BPL stars to lift the standard of the national team—an idea too early for its time, and too bold for the system then. But ideas like that never die. They linger, waiting for the right moment, the right people.
Koster, meanwhile, left his mark with the youth sides. His most cherished moment came when he led a 10-man Bangladesh U20 team to a dramatic win over Iraq U20—an underdog story that still lives in whispers and memories. He also played a part in helping Hemanta Vincent Biswas earn a trial in the Netherlands, proving he could open real doors for young Bangladeshi talents.
Now, with new leadership at the Bangladesh Football Federation, they return. Not as loud saviours, but as experienced minds ready to build, to shape, and to guide. Perhaps this time, with fewer obstacles and more vision, they will be able to see their long-held ideas take root.
For a nation starved of footballing progress, their comeback feels like a story picking up where it left off—older, wiser, and maybe, just maybe, closer to a breakthrough.