Times of India: Fuchs to lead Dabang Mumbai after injured Swann pulls out

MUMBAI: Dabang Mumbai missed out on a semifinal berth by a whisker in the fourth edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) last year. Nevertheless, they were a far superior side than some of their results suggested. This time, however, the squad coached by Australian Jason Stacy is gunning for a happier ending and have been hard at practice on their home turf – the MHA Stadium at Churchgate – over the past eight days.

Germany’s star striker Florian Fuchs will lead the side in the absence of Aussie braveheart Matthew Swann, who has opted out of the tournament owing to an injury he sustained last month. “The composition of the team is good, but we are disappointed that Swann, who captained the side last year, is injured. He was inspirational for us,” Stacy told TOI on Tuesday.

Mumbai have brought about five changes to the 20-member squad and Stacy feels the side is more balanced this time. “Right across the board, our level is a bit higher this season. The junior World Cup boys are evolving and players have returned from the Rio Olympics. So, we are a better team,” he insisted.

Striker Niikin Thimmaiah, who missed HIL-4 due to injury, is back in place of defender Diwakar Ram, who was his replacement. A couple of Dutch players – forward Robbert Kemperman and defender Sander de Wijn – too find themselves in the squad, while goalkeeper Xavi Trenchs has been omitted. Australian forward Kieran Govers, too, is part of the side this time as is Belgium defender Emmanuel Stockbroekx.

“Fuchs is one of the best strikers in world hockey. He leads by example on the pitch. He works very hard. He has very good hockey knowledge, and can help the younger players around him, so we are very thankful that we have him on our team,” insisted Stacy.

There are changes on the coaching staff as well, and Mumbai have roped in Australian Andrew McDonald as the assistant coach. Another Aussie, Greg Drake, has been brought on board as video analyst. “Andrew is a very experienced coach in Australia. He has been in the elite network for over 25 years. We know each other for a long time. He holds the same position in Tasmania as I do in Victoria. He has worked with national teams and a lot of different areas of the national program,” said Stacy.

Squad: Forwards: Robbert Kemperman (Netherlands), Johan Bjorkman (Sweden), Florian Fuchs (Germany), Gurjant Singh, Roshan Minz, Affan Yousuf, Niikin Thimmaiah, Danish Mujtaba, Kieran Govers injured last (Australia); Midfielders: Manpreet, Tyron Pereira, Vikas Sharma, Nilakanta Sharma; Defenders: Emmanuel Stockbroekx (Belgium), Sander de Wijn (Netherlands), Jeremy Hayward (Australia), Harmanpreet Singh, Gurmail Singh, Goalkeepers: Krishan B Pathak, David Harte (Ireland).