Hockey Update: Brasa, Indian Hockey Coach moves back to Spain with uncertainty
Jose Manuel Brasa, Indian coach, who took charge of the team in May 2009, have moved back to Spain on Tuesday after his contract with the Indian team has been over. When he joined the team, he had a mission and wanted Indian team to win gold medal in Asian
Games 2010, for reserving a berth in Olympics 2012 in London. The strict and aggressive coach always wanted the best possible facilities for his team’s training.
Almost a year and a half later, the Spaniard has mellowed down. The fact that India missed the Asian Games final by a whisker certainly has got something to do with it.
On Monday, a day before his contract comes to an end and he flies back home in Spain, Brasa seemed restrained. Sitting in the lobby of an old Delhi hotel, though disappointed from all quarters, he is nevertheless keen on continuing as the India coach.
“I will definitely like to continue, yes, but only if there is proper planning. So far just about 50 per cent of the plan that I had submitted in January, 2009 has been implemented. I would like to continue because this is a bunch of players who have
the potential to be on the podium in London. But for that we need planning and training,” he says.
Brasa flew to Spain with an uncertain mind, for the decision pending on the Sports Ministry for the renovation of his contract with Indian team.
Before his departure, Brasa justified that he had never been ill-treating Rajpal, but he confessed that he never wanted him as a skipper in the team. In addition to this, Indian hockey team defender and penalty corner specialist, Dhananjy Mahadik, blamed
Rajbal for India’s failure in the Asian Games Guangzhou.
“Rajpal didn’t look like he wanted to win. He ruined our chances of beating Malaysia with some unnecessary fouls, which led to us conceding penalty corners,” Mahadik told on Monday.
“In extra-time we were down to 10 men and this was mainly because of the fouls that Rajpal had conceded. That is why we lost,” Mahadik said.
Dhananjy defended the Spaniard coach by saying that he had never pressurized any of the players in the team.
“I can speak for a majority in the team when I say that we never felt the coach criticised us. We never felt the coach targeted Rajpal either. Rajpal claims he was singled out and not given enough authority as captain but always had a say in team meetings,
“stated Rajpal. At the same time, he further went on to say that captaincy isn’t very important in hockey and all they needed was a motivator and they definitely didn’t get any motivation from Rajpal..
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