Kaleemullah: A star or a flop

Kaleemullah: A star or a flop

KRL striker, Kaleemullah, has had to endure a lot of criticism for his performances under Tariq Lutfi. However since the arrival of Zavisa Milosavljevic, he has seemingly turned over a new leaf and can now be credited as a first-choice starter.

The 19-year-old was thrust into the International lime-light during the Asian Games in 2010 under Akhtar Mohiuddin. However the coach failed to utilize the attacker’s talents properly despite having aide from Graham Roberts.

Then came Tariq Lutfi’s time with the National team, which proved to one of the worst periods of Kaleemullah’s International career. The so-called ‘Godfather of Pakistani Football’ used the KRL star primarily on the wing and in the rain soaked stadium at
Dhaka, his plan backfired emphatically.

Kaleem was unable to influence proceedings and according to many was the Green-Shirts most lethargic performers in the match. In the 2^nd leg of the Qualifiers, Kaleem was brought on from the bench in place of Muhammad Qasim but was so nervous
that he could hardly control the ball.

The forward was unable to get into the right positions and when he did, he was unable to dribble or do anything that could identify him as a professional footballer. Heavily criticized by the media and the fans, nothing much was expected of him under Zavisa.

However the Serbian displayed his magic and Kaleem started to demonstrate his abilities, which everyone was able to savour live on television. Jinxing past defenders with utmost ease, he still requires much practice in order to achieve his potential but
his career is definitely on an upward path.

The way he won the penalty against Nepal was a display of his mercurial ability, that has also helped his club lift the Pakistan Premier League trophy. Although yet to score for the Green-Kickers, he has consistently been finding the back of the net in the
PPL.

So under the tutelage of the new trainer, it is only a matter of time that the front-man starts chipping in with the goals and helps Pakistan rise up the rankings and qualify for a major tournament in the future.  

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Posted by Shahrukh Sohail on Jan 5 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry