Guglielmo Arena looks gentle. Similarly, Italian football players are said to be 'handsome'. He is no slouch either. Here we are discussing Arena, the newly appointed Italian coach of the Nepali national men's team. When the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) introduced him to the media on Friday, his personality remained strong. His mannerisms were saying that he is not a person who likes to talk a lot.

Now the question is, where will such a coach take Nepali football? How aggressive will he be? Won't he talk good and bad now and later go somewhere else, accusing Nepalis of being bad? His biggest challenge is right ahead, the Men's SAFF Championship football to be held in September-October. Moreover, where is Nepali football itself progressing with joy now?

Perhaps this coach is equally clever. That is why he did not promise much when he first came forward formally. He did not even boast that he would do this and that. His exact answer was, ‘I will give the required answer in the next few weeks.’ In fact, it has been more than a week since he started appearing at the ANFA Complex and Dashrath Stadium in Satdobato. He is watching the current lackluster national league very seriously.

Perhaps the reason he looks so serious is the UEFA ‘Pro License’ he has. Like the foreign coaches who have come before him, he said, ‘Nepali football players have the qualities needed for international games. But the current league cannot spread it.’

He feels that the current league does not give the players the ‘fitness’ and playing experience they need. Like everyone else, he is also concerned that there are no good strikers in Nepali football.

So Arena said, ‘I think the problem with Nepali football is in scoring goals. Looking at the current league, most of the forward players for the teams are foreigners.’ Like many other coaches, he was not good when he was a player. He has only played in Switzerland up to the 'C' division. But he has gained a lot of experience as a coach. That too, especially in Asia. That includes clubs and national teams.

He has worked in Africa and Europe since 2003. His most recent experience is managing the Laos national team. Coincidentally, Nepal will play the final match of the third round of the Asia Cup qualifiers under his leadership against the same Laos. Another coincidence is that the challenge for both teams in this qualifier is over. For both, this match is really just a battle of prestige.

Nepal had lost to Laos in one of the qualifiers. Before that, Laos was the same team that was always weak when playing against Nepal. Even now, if Laos defeats Nepal, it will be a very bad performance for Nepali football. One difficult thing here is that Nepal will not be able to play this match at the Dasharath Stadium, and where it will be played is also not decided.