Pakistan’s hockey coach, Dutchman Michel Van Den Heuvel is likely to resign from his post as the coach cites his family concerns about his security as a major reason.
“I have to consult my family first whether I should continue with the team or not, and it all depends on their [family’s] opinion.”Michel said.
Michel, who took over the team five months back after the team’s depressing performance in the last hockey World Cup in February, played a key role in the splendid victory of Pakistan in the Asian Games following a title draught
of twenty years. With his win in the Asian Games, Michel now has achieved the title of ‘Master Coach’ in the FIH Coaching List.
When Michel was asked about the secret of his strategies, he said:
“All we did was to prepare for the ‘real’ games and the players were pushed for giving better results and to build their stamina ahead of the Asian Games. We have been preparing for the last four months for this event and the team
finally bagged the gold in China.”
Talking about Pakistan’s chances in the 2012London Olympics he said: “It’s a long way to go for London 2012 Olympics, so it is too early to say anything.”
Although Michel mentioned his families concerns as reason for his second thought about continuing as a coach with Pakistani team, some background interviews of a few former players portray a different picture behind this story.
Interviews show that some of the former hockey players were clearly unhappy with attitude of the Dutch coach and labeled him an arrogant person, who hardly listens to any advice.
However there have been contradictions of opinions, as one former Olympian has defended the coach on the condition of anonymity, saying:
''Some people are unnecessarily making ego issues with Michel, but the fact is that he is the boss and the boss listens to suggestions but takes his own decision because at the end of the day, it is the coach who is answerable
for the result.
''If he quits at this juncture, Pakistan's hockey will falter once again in a big way since several former hockey 'legends' have already been given a stint with the squad as coaches and have failed to achieve much,'' he added.
Another former Olympian also favoured the Dutch coach’s devotion to his work, and admired the scientific methods which he used in the placement of players on the field in recent matches. He revealed that the position of players
in the field was the result of many mathematical calculations which proved to be fruitful at the end.
In the final match of the Asian Games 2010, the coach Michel positioned himself in a stand right above the Pakistani hockey player’s sitting area and instructed the players about various strategies according to the changing situations
of the game.
“The way he made the changes were very ‘geometric’ one could say. The bottom line is that it has paid off and it will be sad to see him leaving if he does, even if you hire a new foreign coach now, he will start
from scratch and who knows what will happen then.” added the former Olympian.
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