Mumbai: Olympian and selector Balbir Singh and Olympian and former Inda coach Joaquim Carvalho share their take.

He means business

I don’t see anything wrong in what Jose Brasa has been doing. If a coach is a taskmaster and expecting the best out of you, the player has to oblige. Brasa means business and if action is taken against players who are not fulfilling his requirements, I feel it’s appropriate.

I agree with him when he says our players are lacking in quality to compete at the highest level. I have been involved in this sport for many decades now and I am witnessing the decline. They are not good in dodging, passing and trapping – the basics of hockey. In the Punjab Gold Cup in January this year, the second string German side looked better than our team in certain areas. Quality is a serious concern and it is high time we addressed it. You shouldn’t be ashamed if someone points out your mistakes.

Somewhere down the line, the rigid mentality of our players is to be blamed. This is one of the reasons for our failure to achieve success in hockey in last three decades. And that is why a foreign coach is necessary. Have we ever managed to reach the semifinals of a major tournament in these three decades, let alone win it?

It’s not that we haven’t given Indian coaches an opportunity to show their mettle. But with no results to show, we have to think forward. We have to accept that the Europeans and Australians are technically better than us and we should be open minded rather than being shy to ask for their help. I guess it’s very early to judge Brasa’s future with the team. If you expect results, give him time and space. Let ego hassles not be a hurdle to hockey, a sport that is already facing so many challenges.

— Balbir Singh is an Olympian and a selector. He spoke to Mihir Vasavda

He is here for money only

While it may be too early to judge team’s performance under Jose Brasa, it must be said that the coaching methods he has adopted are ridiculous. From whatever I learn from the reports in the media, I feel if the chief coach of the Indian team is going to teach the national players how to hold a stick and other basics of hockey, then either there is something wrong with him or the quality of our players is bad.

You teach all this to a player when he begins his career and not at a national camp. But there’s a lot more to this. I feel proper research should have been done before getting Brasa here. The last time he coached a national team was in 1992. What has he achieved in the 17 years after that? If he was so good, why hasn’t he coached the Spanish men’s team ever?

Moreover, the entire system of having a foreign coach is something which I don’t understand.

I have been the coach of the Indian team and I can see the discrimination among the foreign and the Indian coaches clearly. For example, why is a foreign coach paid in lakhs, when the Indian coaches are made to work for a few thousands?

For an Indian, it’s as good as an honorary job, which they take for the love of the game. Foreigners, well, isn’t this just a place for them to make money? I mean, international hockey federation themselves have said that they see India as a good ‘market’ for hockey! That shows their attitude towards our country.

But what hurts me the most is that never before in Indian hockey I have heard of a revolt within a team.

— Joaquim Carvalho is an Olympian and former India coach. He spoke to Mihir Vasavda.