THE formal appointment of Spaniard Jose Brasa as India’s national hockey coach this week got good enough display in the media at a time when the sports pages were looking for some ‘in-house’ news. The Indian Premier League cricket is being played far away in South Africa and there was no action worth a mention at home. The formal appointment of Brasa and his visit to Delhi to sign the contract on May 4 gave a reason to the media to crow about.
But the big question that does not seem to have been addressed was: Does India need a foreign coach at all? If the answer is yes, was Brasa the right man for a job that becomes all the more crucial as India is yet to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games? There are no easy answers to that.
Broadly speaking, the Indian hockey fraternity has always been vertically divided over the ‘home grown vs. foreigner’ debate. Many top Indian coaches and administrators, pointing to the record of the few foreign coaches the country has had, say that an Indian can do the job as well as anyone from abroad.
They say that an Indian can best understand the mind of a fellow countryman. The same goes for hockey coaches and players. Language is another area cited by those who are in favour of home grown coaches. Their apprehension seems to be right as sports minister MS Gill said that Brasa had promised to learn Hindi to convey his messages accurately. Hey, hang on for a second: has Brasa signed a Euro 84,000 per annum contract for learning Hindi or helping India to improve its world ranking? It will be interesting so see how much time the Spaniard will be able to devote to learning Hindi during his 18-month tenure that ends with the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November, 2010.
India’s first foreign coach was Gerhard Rach, who was appointed surprisingly just a few days before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. As expected India not only fared miserably at the Olympics but had a string of poor performances after the Games. Rach had a tumultuous tenure and it ended when he telephoned the then Indian hockey chief KPS Gill in January 2005 to tell him that he was quitting.
India, in association with the International Hockey Federation (FIH), then appointed the legendary Ric Charlesworth as ‘technical advisor’ to the national team. Under his tenure India lost in the 2008 Olympic qualifiers and for the first time in the Games’ history failed to make it to the final round at Beijing. Surprisingly, Charlesworth did not accompany the team to Chile where India lost the final of the qualifying tournament to England and thus embraced only embarrassment.
Almost the entire tenure of Charlesworth was, unfortunately, embroiled in controversy. Most of it was to do with money and if it was not money, there was persistent ambiguity over the exact nature of his job and his powers. The versatile Olympian left a bitter man; in hindsight, it was probably a blessing in disguise for Indian hockey.
So, India’s tryst with foreign coaches has been full of acrimony, controversies and wars of words. In this background arrives FIH Master Coach Brasa, knowing full well that history is against him and he has the onerous task of guiding Indian men’s team to the 2012 London Olympics.
There are, however, some factors in favour of appointing a foreigner. Generally, he is supposed to be unbiased, is not aligned with any region, religion, colour, caste or creed. He is fair while attending selection meetings and in all circumstances will strive to have the best players available; no cover-ups. And the added advantage that Brasa will have is that he is bringing along physical trainer and compatriot David Parez.
But another question begs an answer: was Brasa the best man for the Indian job? It is a difficult poser, but Indian hockey administrators have, over the years, messed up coaches’ appointments. Interestingly, Brasa’s appointment has coincided with Leandro Negre, also from Spain and a “good friend of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general Randhir Singh, taking over as FIH president.
Remember Indian hockey affairs are being run by an IOA-appointed ad hoc committee, though Randhir disassociated himself, reportedly over the “mess” in the committee. But he could still have played a role from outside in the appointment of Brasa through Negre, say insiders. And that’s how Brasa could well have been picked.
Brasa comes at a time when India, under coach in-charge Harendra Singh, recently won the Azlan Shah hockey title and the team is now in Malaysia seeking a third successive Asia Cup title under the meticulous and well-informed coach. Although Brasa will be in Malaysia to observe the team’s performance before taking charge on June 1, he has a tough road ahead. If Brasa takes into confidence Harendra, who will now be ‘national coach’, the journey might just become a shade easy for him and everyone else associated.
