Abahani fly in two foreigners for AFC Cup

Abahani Limited, the six-time Bangladesh Premier League champion, have brought in a defender and a midfielder from Egypt and South Korea respectively in order to fill their full four foreign players’ quota, ahead of the AFC Cup inter-zone semi-final later this month.

The Sky Blues, who made history by becoming the first Bangladesh club to qualify for the AFC Cup knockout stage, will begin their AFC Cup preparation after concluding their domestic league fixture Monday.

The two new faces – Egyptian defender Alaaeldin Nasr Elmagraby Eissa and South Korean defensive midfielder Lee Tae Min – are set to join the camp today, but manager Satyajit Das Rupu informed that the club are yet to finalize the new signings as the AFC’s deadline is Tuesday.

Angel Luiz was kind enough to give an interview to @DhakaTribune Tuesday as he informed that he works mainly in Asia, and provided players to 17 countries in this region.https://t.co/NMO4TsQpKq#FOOTBALL #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHFOOTBALL #BFF #ANGELLUIZ #LUIZ #ANGEL #KINGS #DT

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 1, 2019

Abahani played their last few AFC Cup group-stage matches without injured Brazilian defender Wellington Priori, who left the club, while Afghanistan defender Masih Saighani is reportedly set to join Indian League outfit Chennaiyin FC next season.

Portuguese coach Mario Lemos said, “We believe these two players can improve the team. Eissa is a tall, experienced left-footed defender and can be leader from our defense, and organize it. Lee is a hardworking box-to-box midfielder, who can play as center back with a lot of energy.”

Lemos also informed that the rest of the players are fit to start the camp, except national center-back Topu Barman and defensive midfielder Atiqur Rahman Fahad. 

When asked if he would give priority in the upcoming days for the ties against North Korean club April 25, slated for August 21 and 28, Lemos replied, “We must improve our defending.”