hockey

Paul Van Ass is sacked to salve Batra’s ego

Hockey India (HI) president Narinder Batra is at it again.

This time, it’s Paul Van Ass—the latest incumbent in the chief coach’s hot seat.

Terry Walsh, the previous coach, was unceremoniously dumped by Sports Authority of India (SAI) following Batra’s allegations of financial impropriety.

His replacement, Van Ass, stepped in to prevent a dressing down of his players during the Hockey World League in Belgium following their quarter-final win against Malaysia.

This did not go down well with the HI chief.

The result—a sacked Van Ass.

Indian hockey loses yet another coach and Van Ass’ experiment with Total Hockey ends prematurely.

Indian Hockey is poorer from this rapid-fire chopping and changing of coaching personnel. The churn in support personnel is probably more than within the side itself.

Viren Rasquinha, former India player and CEO of Olympic Gold Quest, commented:

“It doesn’t matter whether the next coach is an Indian or foreigner. When we ask ourselves about our new coach, there are two things that we need to know. One, who are the people who can coach our team. And secondly, the most important question is that who will want to come here knowing that there is absolutely no job security.

How can we give a team in transition a chance to move forward when the coach keeps changing? A new coach brings his own ideas. He goes out, another idea comes in. We don’t need that.

We are now running out of options. There are not many people who are available. What we need to realise is that every new coach needs a certain amount of time to settle in. He will take a few months to know the system, the players and the situation that they find themselves in. Starting from scratch is a new coach’s biggest problem and it seems to be happening on a far too regular basis here.”

Rasquinha added:

“The performances in Antwerp were bad. You look at the participating teams there and you wouldn’t be satisfied with a fourth place performance. We scraped through against France, beating Poland 3-0 was expected.

Pakistan didn’t play full strength and yet we drew 2-2. But what shocked everyone was the 15 goals we conceded in the next three games against Australia (2-6), Belgium (0-4) and Great Britain (1-5). I don’t remember the last time an Indian team conceded that many goals in three games.”

Terry Walsh reacted thus:

“I’m not surprised. This must be the next part of the puzzle.”

He added:

“I’m saddened by what I see and hear. I don’t know what transpired between them (Batra and Van Ass) but I believe HI is simply not in sync with what’s going on globally.

I’m not saying that Van Ass or myself are the best fit, but it’s incredibly important from the point of view of not just Indian hockey but world hockey, that HI give a better account of themselves and what they do and how they do it because whatever they are doing is inappropriate.

When I was India coach, I tried to establish a greater say for the High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans. I wasn’t asking anything for myself, but was only trying to get better protocol, where people who knew what they were doing were making the decisions rather than people who didn’t. But now it’s people, who don’t understand what’s required at the international level, who are making decisions again. This is a case of ego vs common sense.

I watched India play at the HWL in Belgium and felt very sad. They’ve lost quite a bit and I can’t blame them because they’ve been pushed through a series of cultural changes with so many coaches in and out. Brasa brought in European knowledge and tried to club it with the Asian style. After him, Nobbs spent a lot of time doing nothing. Then, I mixed the Australian and Asian style. Now, Van Ass brought in the European model again. Spare a thought for the lads who are forced to cope with all this. Consequently, Indian hockey is deteriorating with each passing month.” 

India’s recent performances especially at the Asian Games where the team won gold and thus qualified directly for the 2016 Rio Olympics has Indian fans hoping that there will be a podium finish in the offing next year.

These hopes may be belied.

The gap between top international sides  and the also-rans is yawning.

India is ranked ninth; Australia, Netherlands,Germany, Belgium and England are in the top five.

The results speak for themselves. Unless the men’s hockey team can beat the best of the best on a consistent basis and in tournament play and not bilateral series where coaches field experimental sides, dreams of a medal are just that.

Discontinuity in coaching personnel and playing styles can only worsen the prognosis.

The clash of egos off the field only foretell more misery for Team India on it.

Van Ass brings total football to Indian hockey

Indian hockey has a new coach, Paul Van Ass, and his first real big test comes when the men in blue participate in the Hockey World League semifinals beginning June 20 in Belgium.

The Dutch manager has decided to try out a brand new strategy dubbed ‘Total Hockey‘.

Van Ass said:

“We are working on the new set up of 10 players going on the attack and all 10 coming back to defend. We have been practising the style for some time, but we will come to know about the outcome when we start playing.”

The concept is not novel.

In this year AFC Ajax won their 4th UEFA Champions League title (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It was first introduced by Dutch soccer club team Ajax Amsterdam in the mid-sixties.

It was refined further and used by the national side at the 1974 World Cup.

The Football Bible website describes the strategy thus:

“Total football’s main strategy is to possess the ball as much as possible. Players position themselves far from each other and pass the ball around. While the ball is being distributed, some players move around to get into good scoring position.     

There are three main objectives in a total football defense: keep the ball away from the goal, intercept passes, and mark deadly strikers. Total footballers work as a unit in defense. They narrow down passing lanes and work together aggressively retrieve the ball as soon as possible.”

Total football was a response to tight man-marking employed by Italian teams. They termed it “catenaccio calcio” which literally translates to mean “door bolt football”.

The Football Bible adds:

“Coach Rinus Michels of Ajax defeated it by making his players move to different positions. This soccer strategy created a dilemma for the man-markers.

If they chased their man, they would find themselves in the wrong position when it is their team’s turn to attack. If they let their man go, they are risking the chance of leaving an attacker open.

Rinus trained his players so they can easily adapt to any position. Opponents who were not as well-adapted as the Dutch total football players found it difficult to keep up.”

Total Football, however, was not invented by Michels. It was an Englishman named Jimmy Hogan who laid its foundation in 1910. Its basic tenets were player stamina and ball passing.

Johann Cryuff, the fulcrum of Michels’ strategy, introduced a variant of Total Football as a manager with Barcelona.

It goes under the name “tiki-taka”. It is this very style that took Barcelona and Spain to the pinnacle of European and World soccer.

Can Total Hockey work for Team India?

It depends.

Indian players have the dribbling skills to implement the strategy. It can also help defeat heavy man-marking of the forwards.

Do Indians have the stamina to fall back on the counter-attack? The forwards have traditionally been too laid back to rush back and defend. Can they overcome this inherent trait? Does the team, as a whole, have the stamina and versatility, especially in defense,  to make this strategy successful?

Brazil, arguably the team with the best footballing skills, have never resorted to Total Football.

Can India, hockey’s Brazil, make it work?

We shall see. And we shall certainly cheer.

Viren Rasquinha: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Viren Rasquinha unveils his plan for stakeholder management.

Embed from Getty Images

What he said:

“I feel when there are such problems, all the stakeholders – be it Hockey India, Terry Walsh, sports ministry, SAI – you have to lock them up in a room, let them sit across the table and trash out all these issues.”

Former India hockey skipper and COO of Olympic Gold Quest, Viren Rasquinha, is hopeful that AussieTerry Walsh will return to coach the Indian side. Walsh resigned his post after his demands for a greater say in team decisions and the ability to pick his own support staff were turned down by Hockey India (HI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI).

The Indian hockey team has turned in stellar performances under Walsh’s guidance in the past year. The highlights are a Commonwealth Games silver, an Asiad gold ensuring direct qualification for Rio 2016 and a 3-1 series victory over Australia Down Under.

Rasquinha said:

“I am hopeful that he comes back. If you look at the overall results, he has done a wonderful job. The players are playing much better hockey. Leave aside the results, but in terms of the quality of hockey, their play has been very good.”

He added:

“It’s just so sad. I’m tired of speaking about it. I feel when there are such problems, all the stakeholders – be it Hockey India, Terry Walsh, sports ministry, SAI – you have to lock them up in a room, let them sit across the table and trash out all these issues. We should finally see everything for the good of Indian hockey. Good things are happening in Indian hockey for the last eight months and we should try our best to make sure that it continues.”

What Rasquinha really meant:

“And if they can’t resolve them, we should just throw away the key to the room.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“And while they’re at it, can we have some tea, coffee and snacks for the gentlemen? Terry Walsh can video-conference in, if he feels like it.”

PR Sreejesh: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

PR Sreejesh does a ‘Psy’ act under the bar.

What he said:

“So yeah, you can term my performance in the final as my `Gangnam act under the bar’.”

Indian hockey goalkeeper and member of the victorious Asian Games squad, PR Sreejesh, is happy with his ‘dance moves‘ during the penalty shootout against Pakistan in the final. The goalie foiled two out of four attempts by their sub-continental arch-rivals.

Sreejesh is a huge fan of the Korean pop star Psy specifically his hit number ‘Gangnam Style‘. The Korean singer-dancer performed at the opening ceremony of the Incheon Games.

Sreejesh said:

 “I like music and love to dance as well. Whenever I travel to practice, I listen to music and this time in Korea I was listening to Psy. I was happy to meet him during the opening ceremony and was inspired by him.”

On playing Pakistan twice:

“We didn’t play well against them in the group stage. So we reflected on our performance in that match and felt that we really need to improve. We didn’t want negativity to creep into our minds and thought positively. The team spirit was excellent. We knew the final would be a tough one and fought as a unit. And that paid dividends.

There is extra motivation to do well against Pakistan. Believe me, I was under no pressure when I went into goal for the shootout. I was 100% sure that I am going to keep the Pakistanis at bay and we are going to win. The team had huge belief in me and they also felt I would do nothing wrong in the shootout.”

On his goalkeeping:

“I can still improve. My goalkeeping has improved considerably when I had short stints with two goalkeeping coaches in the past, Martin Drijver and Dave Staniforth.

I hope we can have a permanent goalkeeping coach. Then not just my performance, the performance of other goalkeepers can also improve.”

What he really meant:

 “You’ve got to be light on your feet and agile both as a goalie and a performer. It’s all about style, Gangnam style.”

What he definitely didn’t:

 “Now if I could only get Psy to co-star with me on ‘India’s Dancing Superstar’ or ‘Zara Nachke Dikha’.”

Rajpal Singh: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Rajpal Singh Is Victoriously Disgruntled

What he said:

“Hockey players do not have shoes to wear.”

Indian hockey team skipper, Rajpal Singh, is justifiably bitter about the treatment meted out to hockey players and other sportsmen. The proud Sikh was speaking to Gaurav Kanthwal of the Times Of India (TOI)  News Network following the recent fiasco wherein returning triumphant players  were offered a piddly reward of Rs. 25,000 each for bringing home the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy.

In an earlier interview, the Indian captain slammed the revised prize money of Rs. 1.5 lakhs saying:

It was total injustice. It’s not just about 18 to 20 players who go play hockey, it’s about national pride, and they should have at least treated us well. Unless they encourage and motivate players, how can we promote the game? It’s very disappointing. We ought to have been rewarded well… It was wrong and this is not the way to treat the national players. Such incentives will not only demotivate us.

Field hockey is the national sport of India.

Rajpal said:

Jab sponsorship ki baat hoti hain toh players ko pata hi nahi chalta hain ki kya ho raha hain. (When it comes to sponsorship, the players are  clueless as to what’s happening.) Even when we travel abroad the sports authority of India spends and takes care of us. We wear sponsor shirts but, pata nahi kyun. Kuch nahi milta woh shirt pehenkar. (Nothing comes of wearing the sponsor’s shirt). Every player in the team’s upset.

Rajpal added that the Indian hockey skipper is hardly recognised as compared to his cricketing counterpart, MS Dhoni:

Agar hum cricket ko compare kare,BCCI ko hatake aur government ki baat kare toh cricket ko bhi utna hi izzat deti jitna hockey ko. (The government should give equal importance to hockey). But when they won the World Cup, then every state government facilitated (sic) their captain. Main apni baat nahi kah raha hoon, lekin hockey team ke captain ko kabhi bhi Dhoni ki tarah dekha nahi jaata hain. (I am not referring to myself but no hockey captain is adulated like Dhoni).

What Rajpal really meant:

“Rs, 25,000 can buy no more than two pairs of decent sports shoes. There are no real sponsors.”

“I wish the BCCI were running Indian hockey. They’d monetise everything.”

“We’re playing hockey, not hooky.”

What Rajpal definitely didn’t:

“It kind of reminds me of the glorious Indian past when our predecessors played barefoot.”

Shivraj Singh Chouhan: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

"In my view, Sachin Tendulkar should not play in IPL if his name is being considered for Bharat Ratna."

Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister (CM), Shivraj Singh Chouhan, believes that Sachin Tendulkar should “deservedly” receive the Bharat Ratna if the rules are changed to accommodate sportspersons.

This remark was made following demands from the hockey fraternity that if a sportsman is to receive the award, first-in-line should be Olympian legend, Major Dhyanchand.

The MP CM added:

“When players like Sachin Tendulkar are sold and bought, it really hurts. A player plays for the country and not for companies.”

What he really meant:

“The Bharat Ratna is the foremost honour the country can bestow upon its citizens. It should not be trivialised. It cannot be auctioned nor is it for sale.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“More free publicity for my party and me. Thank you, Sachin. Thank you, Dhyanchand.”

Bolting Indian Hockey players (Satire)

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India (HI) have received  urgent faxes  from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)  and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) requesting access to their training methods.

The appeal follows a report in the Hindustan Times that Indian hockey players are masters of the short sprint, able to cover 10 metres in a minimum time of 1.57 seconds. This beats Usain Bolt’s existing record of 1.89 by a whopping margin.

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IPL-Bollywood Points Table: Winners and Losers

IPL-Bollywood Points Table

Star	Played	Won	Points
Image via Wikipedia Shilpa Shetty	13	5 (1 NR)	11
Image via Wikipedia Shah Rukh Khan	13	8	16
Image via Wikipedia Preity Zinta	13	7	14

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Indian Hockey: World Series Hockey may set off a conflagration

Image via Wikipedia

There’s trouble brewing in the small state of Indian Hockey. Or maybe it’s gold rush fever. You cannot have smoke without a fire unless it’s dry ice. What would you call that—a smoke screen? But I digress.

The launch of the World Series Hockey (League) by Nimbus Sports and The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) on Tuesday, the 28th of December, 2010 witnessed another twist in the faceoff between the FIH approved Hockey India and the Indian government recognised IHF.

Hockey India is the current arbiter of the team selections for international tournaments. (The IHF fell out of favour with the international administrative body(FIH) because of its inability to bring the men’s and women’s representation under a single umbrella.)

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