I have been wondering what sort of a man dared to be India’s first foreign coach. I had my answer yesterday (Thursday)
I met the German Gerhard Rach after India trained at the Athens Olympic Hockey Centre. They had practiced on pitch two where they play their first match at these Games, against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Rach knows a thing or two about public relations. His first words to me were flattering. He claimed to have been reading my articles since I was editor of World Hockey, the magazine I edited for 25 years and expressed great respect for me.
He obviously has what, in the United Kingdom, is commonly called the gift of the gab’. That might explain how he comes to be coaching India.
Rach comes over as a genuine hockey lover. He has been coaching around the world for many years often with juniors. He helped his German club Raffelberg to many national junior titles. He moved on to Spain, Zimbabwe and Kenya. He claims that under him Zimbabwe failed by one goal to make the World Cup back in 1987.
It was his years in Dubai that led to him taking over as Indian coach. There he met many Indian and Pakistani hockey personalities. He continually expressed the view that India should get a European coach and they would soon regain their place as the Brazil of hockey.
According to Rach, one day KPS Gill told him “You have such a big mouth, you do it”. At first Rach was employed as an expert. Now it is he who will be on the bench when India play the Olympic holders on Sunday.
He feels that he is the right European to take over the role because he has a simple philosophy of hockey and understands the Indian culture.
“Indians have the best stickwork in the world”, he told me, “You can improve these guys quicker than players from other countries. I have shown them some European skills and they learn quickly. They were playing grass hockey. They have finished with playing grass hockey now”.
Rach feels the team have improved dramatically in a short time. Speaking of India’s narrow failure to win the Dusseldorf tournament last month, he felt, “We improved in every game there. Our performance in Dusseldorf compared with the previous one at the Amstelveen tournament was the difference between day and night”. He expects the team to have made another giant leap since Dusseldorf.
Speaking of India’s tough first Olympic match against the defending champions, he says, “The Dutch are very arrogant. They are so confident they can take India. Let them keep that feeling”.
Perhaps some of the Dutch self esteem was dented on Thursday evening. The Netherlands played Korea in a practice match after India had trained and were soundly beaten 4-1 by the Koreans.
Most of the pundits gathered here after forecasting a European triumph at these Games. European teams have tended to dominate the majors in Europe in the last two decades. They think the gold will go to the Dutch or Germans with Spain, about whom I have some reservations, a dark horse.
Whatever, the moment of truth for the portly, affable, Gerhard Rach is at hand.