Wanted: Hitman

29/03/2003

MALAYSIAN chief coach Paul Lissek put up the wanted poster after Malaysia
muffed several good chances against Pakistan and Germany, but there will
be no takers for the next few years, at least.
"The team does not have a player with killer instincts, like the rest of
our opponents. That is why Malaysia suffered the worst run, ending without
a single point," said Lissek.
Malaysia have lost eight straight matches since March 17, three Test
matches against Pakistan, one friendly against South Korea, and four
matches in the Azlan Shah Cup. The boys only managed to score four goals
but let in 11.
The coach was quite irked when names of players who did not perform, or
were not physically fit, were made public by the Press, but yesterday, he
concurred.
"I will have to change the training strategy and include more physical
training because our target is to do well in the Champions Challenge in
South Africa and then qualify for the Athens Olympics," said Lissek.
Lissek is a world-class coach, and should know what is the best position
for his players, but sometimes, by standing on the shoulders of hockey
fans, he can see further.
Malaysia do have two killer strikers in Tajol Rosli and Azlan Misron,
but they were seldom on target, even when presented with open goals,
because too much was expected from them.
Azlan and Tajol were everywhere, in midfield, defense and attack -
following the ball tirelessly. But it was too grueling and energy-sapping
for humans, and they missed vital chances when presented with open goals.
The duo played well in the Razak Cup and the National Under-21, when
they were not expected to make passes, but receive and score.
Chua Boon Huat is another wasted talent. From the stands, it was obvious
that he is not made to score goals but instead to play as a feeder. Chua
played the best hockey of his life when he was a rightback, or even a
right midfielder. He is a good feeder, and maybe a change of position will
make the team stronger at the back with more balls reaching our forwards.
Megat Azrafiq and Amin Rahim showed in the Azlan Shah Cup that they can
be relied upon to marshal the defence when S. Kuhan and Nor Azlan Bakar
push forward to help the strikers, but the plan backfired many times
because Kuhan and Azlan Bakar were not fast enough to retreat when the
situation warranted.
All 18 players for the Azlan Shah Cup had skills and ball sense, but
lacked fitness to carry them for 70 minutes of play or back-to-back
matches, so it will be useless if Lissek conducts skills training after
this. He should break up the schedule with two weeks of training and two
weeks of playing hockey.
The boys also looked like they never recovered after a week of training
in Malacca, three Test Matches against Pakistan, a friendly against South
Korea and then immediately pitted against world-class teams in the Azlan
Shah Cup.
Have they forgotten what happened to the 2001 Tasmania Junior World Cup
team? Malaysia had some of the most exciting junior players in the team,
but a grueling run-up programme caused burn-out and after losing to New
Zealand 4-2 in the opening match, they never recovered.
Junior World Cup coaches Yahya Atan, Zulkifli Abas and team manager
Ariffin Ghani made a written report to the Malaysian Hockey Federation
about the disaster in Tasmania. Maybe someone should take out the copy
from the archives, wipe the dust off it and study it closer before
planning for the next battle.
(END)