Pakistan Hockey Federation gives approval for foreign coach
Pakistan Hockey is having its rough run these days. The plunging condition of the national team has prompted the Pakistan Hockey Federation to hire a strong and competent coach for the Green Shirts.
Pakistan hockey, which was once renowned to be the best in world field hockey, is facing its worst phase in its history. The winners of several prestigious international events including the World Championship titles along with winning the Olympics, Champions Trophy, Commonwealth and Asian Games, and many other events around the globe, could hardly reach the victory stand in the last ten years.
The Federation has been looking for a proficient coach to train the Green Shirts after their disappointing performance in the World Cup earlier this year where the four-time World champions finished last in the 12-nation prestigious event.
Some of the hockey experts feel that a veteran foreign coach is the counter of all ills plaguing the Green Shirts, but there are others who believe that a local Olympian can do a better job as the national coach.
Top authorities of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) have also been beating their own trumpet of hiring a foreign coach for the poor Green Shirts, but Pakistan hockey is on the verge of exclusion from the 2012 London Olympics. A deteriorating security situation in the terrorism-stricken country has made the job of hiring a foreign national coach extremely difficult.
PHF administration has in principle approved the appointment of a foreign coach but the best choice for the job, Paul Lissek of Germany, has flatly turned down the offer due to current security situation in Pakistan.
Tahir Zaman, Tayyab Ikram, Qamar Ibrahim and Asif Bajwa are the only few recognized, qualified and competent coaches in Pakistan.
Tayab Ikram, indeed, carries much better qualifications than former Olympians Tahir, Ibrahim and Asif. However, some federation officials perceive him as a coach with a theoretical approach and little emphasis on practical skills.
Asif Bajwa, being the current PHF secretary, automatically rules out from the list and the option boils down to other three individuals, all of whom, unluckily, are out of the good books of Pakistan’s hockey administration.
It would be more fruitful to hire a local coach with first-class track record and sturdy work ethics than to have an average foreign coach for a very high salary package.
After losing confidence in former Olympians to coach, PHF’s Executive Board has sanctioned the appointment of a foreign coach. The progress has been made in order to lift the drooping fortunes of the national game. The approval was given in a meeting Chaired by the President of PHF, Qasim Zia here on Wednesday.
Asif Bajwa, former Olympian and PHF’s secretary, said the federation has shortlisted a few suitable credentials for the post and the most appropriate person will be given the first choice after getting a nod of approval from the Federal Sports Minister.
Reliable sources in the federation have disclosed that the foreign coach most probably will be the Dutch hockey coach Michel van den Heuvel whose entire expenses will be borne by the sports ministry.
Pakistan, under Dutch man Hans Jorritsma had won their last big title - 1994 World Cup - in Sydney, Australia, while another Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans instructed the Green Shirts in 2004. Pakistan improved its rankings at the international level during his period. Supporting the decision of hiring a foreign coach, a federation official said sufficient chances were given to qualified former Olympians in current years but no one could achieve the desired results of improving the overall progress of the national team.
The international coach can only be successful if he is authorized to select a squad of his own preference. But in a set-up like Pakistan’s, this is just unlikely, mainly because the PHF is such a politically administered institution.
In the past as well, an impressive foreign coach-c*m-physical trainer Wouter Tazelaar failed to make an impact on the Pakistan’s national squad. He was principally hired to get the Green Shirts in top physical form but the World Cup loss provided evidence that he had failed miserably.
Even the federation secretary, after the Delhi debacle, revealed to the media that the players were ‘not physically fit.’
A key factor that needs the federation’s attention is the kind of terms offered to a local coach. If the federation wants some local coach to raise the national team’s graph, he should be paid accordingly, if not more, than at least equal to the package offered to any foreign candidate. In addition, his contract tenure should not be less than two years which is a fair spell to judge the performance of a team under certain coach.
The most important thing, irrespective of the foreign and local coach, is that the candidate must be selected on merit and not political influence otherwise it will spell doom for the already dipping Pakistan hockey.
Tags: