DUTCH coach Paul van Ass loves to watch the "chaotic" Asian style of
playing hockey, but sadly, it is not good if one is looking for results
at international level.
The Germans are boring, the Dutch systematic, the Kiwis hardworking,
while the Australians simply brilliant, and all four made the semi-finals
on team-work.
"I love to see the chaotic Asian playing style because it is nice to
watch, but sadly, structure and systematic approach produce results,"
said van Ass.
Asian teams fell by the wayside despite their individual flair, and
stubbornly refuse to learn how to play hockey to win, and not play to the
gallery, even though it was evident decades ago that the European
systematic attack which has produced results.
Pakistan fifth, South Korea seventh, India ninth, Malaysia 12th and
Japan 13th sum up precisely where flair and individual skill normally end
up.
The fact that Pakistan were the inaugural champions in 1979, but have
been struggling since, and India only hitting a high in 2001 but in the
shadows for the past two editions, indicates where Asian hockey is
heading.
Germany were champions in 1982, 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2009, and that
speaks volumes of their development structure, especially the focus on
clubs.
German coach Uli Forstner lamented the fact that he did not have his
players together until one week before the tournament, and it was the
same for van Ass.
And the reason for this is that the Dutch and Germans place great
emphasis on club tournaments and their players were involved in the
European Hockey League and the Bundesliga right till the end.
The EHL and Bundesliga coaches made sure the players were fit and all
clubs played a similar style, so when they are regrouped, the players
adapt fast and there is no need for long periods of centralised camps,
like practised in Malaysia.
However, since the club structure in Malaysia is very loose, with each
coach having his own idea on how hockey should be played, and schools
simply not bothered to strengthen basics, national coaches are left with
a messy situation.
It is only in Malaysia where the national coach must teach his pool of
recruits how to stop the ball, how to hit, and also prod them like cattle
to keep them fit.
Seven players from coach K. Rajan's team have been selected for
attachment to the senior side. But other than Faizal Shaari, 18, and
goalkeeper Abdul Hakim, 21, one does not see much hope in the others.
Faizal scored eight of Malaysia's 15 goals, while Hakim, even though
playing behind poor defenders, managed to keep Malaysia afloat to finish
12th among 20 teams.
It was almost a two-man show, as the others lacked even the basics, and
the blame lies squarely on our schools, and chaotic club structure.
