The coach must have full control over team matters, says Brasa
After months of insisting that everything was fine within the Indian hockey team, chief coach Jose Brasa admitted that there were certain factors that had affected the players’ and the team’s performance in the recent World Cup. He also clearly outlined his demand of full control of the team and their decision-making.
After failing to meet SAI officials despite attempts over the past two days, Brasa told the media here on Thursday that team spirit was missing among the players. Without naming anyone, he indicated that there were certain “negative influences” in the team that were an important factor in their performance.
He also made it clear that the chief coach needed to have “full power over everything.” Making a presentation to outline his ideas — though SAI officials claimed that it was actually 10 months old and created before the Spaniard had been hired — Brasa sought complete control over every decision, including the selection of players and the support staff, deciding who the captain would be and the team’s budget and daily allowances.
“The head coach must be the general director of the national team, with full powers,” he said. “No one knows better than the coach who the captain should be,” he said, referring to the Indian team’s captaincy issues before the World Cup. “Our suggestion was to make someone else the captain, but the selectors thought otherwise.”
Brasa also insisted that the selectors’ job should be restricted to hunting for new talent and grooming it in state academies. He also proposed the establishment of central academies across India that followed a uniform coaching structure. “There should be a structure where we have four centres for the under-14 level, two for the under-18, and then one under-23 centre,” Brasa said.
‘Bureaucracy too slow’
Brasa also slammed the authorities, saying there were too many power centres. “The bureaucracy in India is very slow. World over, there is only one body that is in complete control of things, but here we don’t know who to talk to when we need something. In sports, you cannot move so slowly,” he said.
While reiterating that these were only his “suggestions”, Brasa insisted he was positive about the team. “A new cycle will begin now and I am optimistic about Indian hockey,” he said.
SAI officials, however, waved off Brasa’s recommendations. “We are not against him but he should understand that there is a system in every country that needs to be followed. The system in India cannot be like that in Australia or USA,” a senior official said.