"VAN" (Sports Desk - 24.11.2025) :: His smiling face endears him to the whole Bangladeshi football fraternity, as much as his incredible skills on the pitch. In Bangladesh, Hamza Choudhury has made cricket-loving spectators turn their attention to football, and many believe he resembles Lionel Messi of Argentina because he is always happy off the field and serious on the field.
The majority of football supporters in Bangladesh follow Argentina and Messi, but recently more support is being shown to the Bangladesh Football Team because of Choudhury.
A LEADING LIGHT Since making his debut for Bangladesh in a 0–0 draw against India on 25 March 2025, the England-born 28 year old has been a leading light in the team, bringing the Messi vibes into Bangladeshi football.
The Leicester City midfielder now carries the hope of Bangladeshi football, with the national team achieving a better success rate in 2025: 2 wins (the most important and recent one against India (1-0) in their AFC Asian Cup Qualifier), 3 draws and 2 defeats.
In his seven appearances for Bangladesh, Hamza Chowdhury has scored four goals. He scored his first international goal in a 2–0 friendly win over Bhutan in June, gave Bangladesh an early lead in their 4-3 loss to Hong Kong in an AFC Asian Cup Qualifier, and scored a brace in the 2-2 with Nepal in an international friendly in Dhaka.
Before Chowdhury’s inclusion, Bangladesh played 49 matches since 2020, losing 25 of them and accumulating 12 wins and draws respectively.
A SAVIOUR Here’s what a veteran Bangladeshi football journalist, Sanat Babla, said about Chowdhury’s impact. “Many believe that Hamza's impact on Bangladesh is similar to that of Messi. His talent may not be as great as Messi’s but when it comes to Bangladesh, he is seen both scoring and stopping goals, such as in the match against India. So from a Bangladeshi perspective, he has created the Messi vibe in the national team. His teammates also consider him to be the team's saviour. The spectators are also excited, shouting Hamza's name from the stands.”
Babla agreed that Chowdhury has improved the face of Bangladeshi football: “Since Hamza came, spectators have started to believe that Bangladesh can win this time. Additionally, among the players on the field, a distinct confidence is noticeable. And they are very spirited because of Hamza's inclusion.
“They play better than before, with a lot of self-confidence. Recently they won their fifth group match in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, defeating India after 22 years on home soil. Hamza’s four goals so far in his 7 matches makes his impact even clearer.”
COHESIVE TEAM A renowned Bangladeshi football analyst, Ahmed Shaaek, added: “In the 2022 World Cup, when Messi was playing, the entire Argentina team rallied around him, knitted together with the objective of helping Messi to win the World Cup. Now, in Bangladesh, the players want to play with Hamza and be around him, they center their game around him. Consequently, Bangladesh is slowly emerging as a cohesive team.”
Shaaek sees Hamza as a leader, like the Maldini or Thiago Silva of Bangladesh football. “Hamza is quite vocal on the field. He constantly talks to the players all over the field. He also engages in mind games and argues with the opponent players. These actions often spread enthusiasm throughout the entire team during the match and give a lot of focus to the team to perform better. Additionally, Hamza is often seen engaging in a sort of conversation with the referee during the match — these are also things to learn, which the players are now learning by observation.
“There is no doubt that Hamza's inclusion will technically advance Bangladesh's football not only on the field, but off the field too. For example, what equipment a player needs to enhance performance like boots, socks, recovery or ankle protection. Even on the practice sessions, what extra skill the player needs to do for performance can be learnt through Hamza as he possesses the highest level of experience in world football.”
Whether technical, non-technical, performance-based or heroism, Hamza Chowdhury is grabbing all the attention in the Bangladesh sports arena. People are trying to replicate his hair style even though they don’t have curly hair like his.
All the sponsors are rushing to Hamza's hotel room during his two-three days of visit in Bangladesh, Media are following him every minute. Through his influence Bangladesh beat more advanced football rival India for the first time in 22 years recently. So, although Hamza does not completely resemble Lionel Messi, in Bangladesh and for Bangladeshis he has brought the Messi vibes.
Responses
Leave your comment