Tough task ahead of new coach Brasa

S. Thyagarajan

CHENNAI: On debate for decades, the issue of a foreign coach is a sensitive, touchy item that evokes inexplicably complex emotions in the hockey community.

When the idea was floated in the late 1970s, the weapon to shooting it down was ‘pride’ (izzat).The argument advanced was that a superpower like India, with a handful of Olympic medals, will be looked down upon if it opted for a foreign coach. Sadly, the power-that-be at that point of time lacked the vision, and failed to comprehend the transparent trend of transformation.

The voice of a veteran administrator like Ashwini Kumar was drowned in the cacophony of contradictions and contortions. The former IHF president was optimistic that the alarming decline can be arrested by a coach like Horst Wein, whose strategic formulations were revolutionising the game across Europe.

But the suggestions had not many takers. Had the administration seen through the prism of what lay ahead to the status of our hockey, it would not have been what it is today.

When the idea really crystallised three decades later, the ham-handed manner in which the German coach, Gerhard Rach, was inducted did more harm than good.

There was dissatisfaction all round and what happened for the national team in the Athens Olympiad needs no enumeration.

The subject of a foreign coach was on the boil since then in varying intensity, till the disaster at the World Cup in Monchengladbach and the Santiago qualifier, where India tumbled out of the Olympic pedestal.

The involvement of FIH, the side-lining of the federation, and the creation of an IOA-led ad hoc committee, with the sports ministry throwing its weight in, all formed a heady mixture that only accentuated the complexities beyond comprehension.

A way could easily have been found to utilise a stalwart like Ric Charlesworth if those connected with it made a common cause. Every point was deliberately clouded to frustrate the Aussies’ passion to handle the national team.

He was genuinely interested in uplifting the profile of our hockey, but had to abandon the project, that left a bitter taste all round. The loss for India was greater than it was for Charlesworth.
Bleak scenario

Against this bleak scenario enters the 55-year old Jose Manuel Brasa. Armed with a FIH Master Coach Certificate and reputation as the man behind Spain’s women team’s gold medal at Barcelona in 1992, Brasa steps in, where Angels fear to tread.

He cannot be unaware of what he is about to confront in the next few weeks. Admittedly, it is a Herculean task as expectations are high. A silver lining is that the team has regained a modicum of its self-belief thanks to a series of decent performances against top teams and the recent win in the Azlan Shah Trophy at Ipoh.

It is a moot point whether Brasa should take charge immediately on the eve of the Asia Cup starting on May 9. The interim coach, Harendra Singh, and his team, Ramandeep Singh and Romeo James, have established a good rapport with the players who are now used to a systematisation worked out by them. Any change evolved in the routine by Brasa at this juncture might upset the acquired rhythm.

Now that Brasa’s role is confirmed, and Harendra offering full support and co-operation, the Spaniard would serve the cause better if he remains a mere observer and making a point or two in team meetings than take the place in the bench and dictate.

Frankly, the coach requires time to study and analyze the utility value of all the 18 players and fashion a working formula from the inputs by the team handling players for about a year now. Only then will the transition be smooth.