Indian players always play under extra pressure - Jose Brasa, former Indian hockey coach

Jose Brasa soared in popularity during his stint as Indian men’s hockey team coach.The Spaniard is even today talked about glowingly by many Indian players (those in the current side as well as those outside).

The manner in which he took over from Joaquim Carvalho and lifted the side’s fortunes despite all the official odds stacked against him, drew copious praise from many quarters.

The 62-year-old shepherded the national side to a commendable bronze medal-winning effort at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangdong, China as well as a silver medal-winning effort at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Brasa has also served as coach of the Ukraine women’s hockey team coach besides being part of the now-defunct World Series Hockey, where he sat in the coach chair of the Chennai Cheetahs side.

The vastly experienced coach spoke on various issues concerning Indian hockey in an exclusive interview to Sportskeeda.

Excerpts:

Q. Michael Nobbs took over as India coach in June 2011 after Hockey India did not renew your contract despite the country bagging a bronze at the 2010 Asian Games. What are your thoughts on the Australian’s stint as India coach?

My first feeling is why always is the coach fired and held responsible for the team’s performance? I reckon the biggest difference between Nobbs and me was the selection criteria – the players he likes to select for the national team is completely different from the players I picked. I prefer to choose creative players. Another difference between Nobbs and me is the freedom I gave to the system of play to enable Indian players develop the Indian style of playing. Creativity is a part of the Indian personality, it is inside Indian idiosyncrasy, and positive parts of the Indian idiosyncrasy shall be maximized when playing.

Q. What ails Indian hockey? Europeans teams are rapidly improving – even teams like Belgium and Ireland have shown that they can match the best in the business. Australia is also improving all the time. Where do you think India is lagging behind in terms of tactics?

It is true that these nations have improved a lot after working under the same coach – coaches in these nations have the freedom to hammer out their plan of action and develop the team sans any interference from the hockey board. The coaches in these countries have the leeway to choose their support staff; assume full control of the situation, even when it came to selection of players, as well as the captain – that way a coach is in a better position to deliver.

These nations have been able to create a conducive environment where the players have the confidence to perform as well as learn and improve. The hockey boards of these nations give a lot of confidence to the coach, and that is the only way to achieve success.

In India, hockey players are under a lot of pressure once they are called to play for the national team. Hockey in India has a rich history (winning eight Olympic gold medals is a phenomenal achievement). Players come into the national team with the hope of regaining the country’s past glory, and everybody know how important hockey is in India, Hockey is the national sport in India. This is an extra pressure on Indian players – something that does not exist in other countries. Neither Hockey India nor SAI creates an environment where players can play without any pressure of being dropped from the side.

I don’t think it’s a problem of tactics; it all about keeping an ancestral system alive, like the selectors, the team being captain chosen by the board, Hockey India and SAI singling out players, when they speak their mind on issues concerning the sport.

Q. Generally speaking, Asian teams are declining. What do you think could be the reasons for that?

Asian teams are unable to realize their potential owing to lack of good artificial pitches. Good players are more brilliant in good surfaces. Having better surfaces can have more advantages, and the skillful players can dish out even better performances. Asia has the world’s most skillful hockey players (from India and Pakistan). Therefore, hockey authorities in India and Pakistan must make an effort to lay good artificial surfaces.

Q. In India, most hockey surfaces are constructed from polypropylene fiber. Do you think that there is a need to opt for a nylon 6.6 fiber surface?

Nylon 6.6 fiber is the world’s best artificial hockey surface. Nylon 6.6 fiber is five to seven times more expensive than polypropilene fiber. Artificial pitches made from polypropilene fiber are very bumpy, where the ball bounces a lot. This surface is good for players who indulge in more physical play and less skill.

In India, most of the pitches are made from polypropylene. The improvement of hockey in India is being harmed by the polypropylene surface. If the surface of the Indian stadiums had been nylon 6.6, then the results of the India team had been much better.

Q. How much pressure a foreign coach has to take whenever he is appointed as India coach?

The pressure for a foreigner taking over as India coach is very high. Foreign coaches are confronted with unbecoming behavior. The system of putting pressure and hitting back at coaches for speaking their mind is obsolete. Nowadays cooperation and teamwork are the need of the hour.

Q. The Sports Authority of India and Hockey India are two entities involved in the promotion of hockey in the country. Do you think that there is adequate coordination between them?

I did not see any good coordination between both bodies. During my stint as India coach SAI was interfering rudely many times on specific hockey decisions that was not their business. I can cite one example, SAI was asking me for full reports of each player (day-by-day, session-by-session), with the only intention of wasting time of the foreign coach, and putting me under more pressure. SAI should control the budget and Hockey India should control the sport, as it happens in almost all other countries.