Cheat code Hamza restores the roar
What Hamza Choudhury has done since pulling on the Bangladesh jersey belongs to sporting folklore. Football rarely grants a nation this sort of figure whose very arrival resets expectations in ways statistics cannot capture.
Since March 2025, Hamza has managed the improbable and unthinkable, doing so with a style and spirit that has turned an entire era mythic. Bangladesh have welcomed expatriate talents before, but none restored the sport's dormant roar with such natural ease as the 27-year-old Leicester City midfielder.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. On the pitch, he resembles a wartime general: leading by example, reading danger before others sense it, smiling even when the tide turns against his side. A superior talent to those around him, he plays alive to pressure rather than burdened by it. At times, he looks like he is playing a video game with cheat codes switched on.
In national colours, he expresses parts of his game that his clubs seldom require: the direct free-kick, overhead kick, Panenka penalty, and so on. His outrageous volley against India at the National Stadium on Tuesday -- struck with his weaker left foot from distance -- felt like the culmination of what Bangladesh had been promised but never believed they would see.
For once, fans feel they have a saviour who gives everything. Earning the trust of a result-hungry fanbase is never easy, but Hamza has made it feel inevitable, as if the country was waiting for him all along.
"Seeing the fans in the stadium, their energy, their passion… it lifts you in a way you can't describe," Hamza said after scoring against Bhutan in a 2-0 victory -- his first with Bangladesh. "I want them to enjoy every moment we play together."
Most legends of Bangladesh football thrived when the game was king or fading into second place. Hamza arrived in a different landscape, shaped by European broadcasts and a generation raised on global stars. The atmosphere at the renovated National Stadium now speaks to something deeper: watching a messiah-like figure inspire teammates and elevate the standard. It's a feeling Argentina know with Lionel Messi, Egypt with Mohamed Salah. Bangladesh finally have their own version.
In a dramatic fashion, the memorable 1–0 win over India became a checkpoint in Hamza's tale -- the completion of a narrative arc that began with his debut in Assam, where he first felt the weight and warmth of the national shirt. His first major triumph, fittingly, also came against India.
"This is right up there with the FA Cup win [with Leicester]," Hamza said. The catharsis was complete; the stage set for what comes next.
His goals in the Bhutan and Nepal friendlies showed what freedom can unlock, and the potential ahead if teammates continue to evolve to bridge the gap between the system and the star.
Whatever happens next, Bangladesh will always have Hamza, and as long as he keeps spreading the stardust, they will always witness a football fairytale in real time, front row, no filter.
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