Sheringham wastes little time making impact in Bangladesh

Apart from the recent influence of Haitian and Colombian forwards, African footballers dominated the country's professional football scenario more often than not. It is not usual that an European comes to Bangladesh and leaves his mark like England’s Lee Andrew Tuck, who was arguably the best player in the league last season. Like Tuck, Charlie Sheringham also hails from England but possesses a more distinguished playing career compared to the former. And not to forget, being the son of former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur star Teddy Sheringham, he has a lot of expectation riding on his shoulder. And he has not disappointed as the 29-year old striker marked his Bangladesh debut with a headed goal in Saif Sporting Club's 2-1 win over holder Dhaka Abahani Limited Monday. Wearing the No 17 jersey, Sheringham started as a lone striker and his tall build and quick movements were not easy for Abahani to deal with.

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Also read: United great Sheringham’s son joins Saif Sporting

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"Winning was my priority. A goal, win and three points against the champion, it's been a great day. I'm really happy," said Sheringham after the game. Sheringham has been with Saif Sporting from October 25 this year. He added, "It takes a while to get used to Dhaka. Bangladesh is a lot different than London but I'm enjoying it and hopefully we keep winning and I'll be more happy. My ambition is to play for England. I love playing football and I just keep on trying." Sheringham informed that it was Saif Sporting’s English head coach Ryan Northmore who called and inspired him to try his luck in Bangladesh. Northmore is now more confident with the new signings of Wedson Anselme and Sheringham.He heaped praise on Sheringham, saying, "Charlie is an out and out striker. Proper goal-scorer. He has got very clever movement. He can hold the ball well. He is going to be handful for any defence." Wedson, formerly at Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited, is a proven forward in the BPL so Sheringham still has a long way to go yet before proving his worth. When asked about their new attacking partnership, Northmore hoped, "Still very early in terms of that partnership. They will get better and better." Abahani’s Serbia-born Croatian head coach Drago Mamic said after the game, "These two foreign players give more quality to the team. Wedson and Charlie are very good players. Charlie scored a good goal but he should be covered. Our defenders failed to mark him."