Forget Lissek, we can do with Van Huizen

05/02/2001

IS Paul Lissek coming or not?
THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and the National Sports Council
(NSC) have been playing a cat-and-mouse with the German coach for as long
as one can remember. To be precise, it all started after Terry Walsh left
Malaysian hockey to stand on its own.
Lissek sent his student Volker Knapp who had not seen any World Cup
action, and naturally it turned out to be a disaster that was on Malaysian
hockey's expense account.
Then Lissek rode in and with an iron-fist, instilled discipline and
respect in the national players and the amazing result was a silver medal
in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.
Thanks for the glory Lissek, but it's time that we stood on our own
feet.
For Malaysian hockey to thrive in the long run, and not just panning for
a silver flash, local coaches must be given the reins today.
Tomorrow, next month and next year should no longer be the excuse for
development.
The MHF are more than keen to allow locals to run the show, but the NSC
are not convinced of a made-in-Malaysia product, hence their concerted
effort to land Lissek. NSC have offered him a four-year contract but the
hockey grapevine has it that that Lissek is more comfortable plying his
trade in Europe and one reason is his 86-year-old mother who prefers the
climate there.
MHF took a bold step when they entrusted Stephen van Huizen to handle
the Sydney Olympics squad and although the team could only manage 11th
place after some good performances earlier, fans accepted it because the
opposition are light years ahead at the moment. South Korea, relatively
new to the game but silver medallists in Sydney, are a case in point. The
man behind their meteoric rise is Kim Sang-ryul, who went to India to
learn the finer points of hockey and is now among the the world's best
coaches.
So, why not let Van Huizen and the string of local coaches that MHF have
now handle the 2001 World Cup side for good?
The worst that could happen is they will be wiser and more capable and
able to work without depending on a consultant.
Germany have dumped Lissek because his style of hockey is said to be
`old fashioned'. So why hire a `discard' and pay him an astronomical
salary?
On another note, hockey has declared 2001 as the International Year of
the Youth but this seems to have been missed by both MHF and NSC.
The Champions Schools tournament that ended on Jan 21 in Ipoh saw
brilliant play from top scorer Mohamed Zamzuhairi Abdul Wahab from SM
Sains Tengku Mohamed Faris Petra of Kelantan, his teammate and goalkeeper
Mohamed Nazri Rahman, Anderson's goalkeeper Fitri Abdul Aziz and the Most
Promising Player of the Tournament R. Rama of St David's, Malacca.
But overall, there were some disturbing signs as 10 teams, last year's
champion schools in their respective States took part this year but
missing were Kuala Lumpur, where some of the traditionally top hockey
schools are located. Someone must answer for their absence as St John's
Institution of Kuala Lumpur were the first winners in 1987 and defended
their title the following year.
Other States that did not bother to field a side were Sabah, Sarawak and
Perlis. Are the State HAs serious about development?
When we can't get the State HAs to be actively involved in the
development of the game, Lissek or any foreign maestro coaches won't be
able to put our shattered hockey pieces together.
So Lissek, please do Malaysia a favour by accepting Spain's offer.
(END)