Sheffield United man receives Lionel Messi comparison after promising “Premier League” verdict
Sheffield United man receives Lionel Messi comparison after promising “Premier League” verdict
Hamza Choudhury has been dubbed “the Lionel Messi of Bangladesh” as the on-loan Sheffield United midfielder prepares to make international history over this break. The 27-year-old flew out to Bangladesh in the aftermath of Sunday’s Steel City derby victory over rivals Wednesday, and will make his long-awaited senior international debut against India early next week.
Loughborough-born Choudhury qualifies to represent Bangladesh through his family heritage and switched his international allegiance earlier this season, having been capped for England U21s earlier in his career. He landed in his adopted homeland to a hero’s welcome, with a football-mad country already showing their love for him in every social media post by United in which the midfielder features.
After a period of time with his family, Choudhury joined up with his Bangladesh teammates to prepare for the vital Asian Cup qualification match at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, played just a few days before United return to Championship action on Friday evening at home to Coventry City.
If, as expected, he makes his debut for Javier Cabrera’s side he could come face-to-face with India’s talismanic skipper Sunil Chhetri, who recently came out of retirement to score his 95th international goal for India in a friendly win over the Maldives. That puts him fourth on the all-time list of international goalscorers, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (135), Messi (112) and ex-Iran star Ali Daei (108).
But Bangladesh skipper Jamal Bhuyan said in a press conference: "I don't think you can compare Sunil to Hamza. I think Sunil is a very good player, he's done a tremendous job for his country. But let's be honest, Hamza is a Premier League player."
Of Choudhury’s arrival in the Bangladesh camp, Bhuyan said: "It was the same environment when I came. Now Hamza, a Premier League player, coming to the team is like saying our Messi is coming. I think he fits perfectly.
“With Hamza coming into the team, it gives a lot of inspiration to other footballers around the world to come to Bangladesh and play for the national team. Representing Bangladesh or your home country is the highest thing being a footballer. I think, on the 25th, when Hamza hears the national anthem, he's going to get goosebumps."
Such scrutiny could easily prove something of a distraction ahead of the game but Choudhury is relaxed about the situation. "At the end of the day, we're playing a football match,” Choudhury said. “I'm not feeling the pressure. I'm just here to try and improve the team.”
Boss Cabrera added: "Now, to me, it is about getting ready and working on the mentality of how to beat [India]. That is our eagerness, our meetings, the intensity of our practices, how much we demand of ourselves to reach the peak level and making sure we convince ourselves that we can make history on Indian soil.”