Indian hockey: an obsession with playing style

Drafting the correct player

With the advent of Astroturf, which is fast and true, principles from football ruling the roost in hockey, and with the game being completely different on grass, which is really a very untrue surface, there is only one way to play modern hockey and that is the scientific way (passing becomes more important than any other aspect of the game, since the ball travels extremely fast and extremely true). A common analogy would be billiards.

The scientific way is how it is practised by top sporting nations across the world, including Spain (both hockey and football). What is needed to play on the surface is a different type of player, an all rounder, physically extremely fit, fast.

Whether an attacker, midfielder or defender, with the basics down pat – trapping, passing, defending, tackling and also dribbling – put in that order, and not in the reverse order, as is fashionable currently.

Our powers that be, including most of the old Olympians, never played on the surface, and probably were as deficient in the basics as our current lot. So they know no better.

The most accurately passing players are discarded routinely (Mahadik) and the decidedly inaccurate but good dribbling potential (Manpreet) are introduced in the national line up, irrespective of their experience.

Now, on rare occasion, that dribbling skill would translate into a match winner, no doubt, but more than likely, the inaccurate passing would lead to a lot of circle penetrations against his team, and results in a loss.

Defence wins matches

Defence wins matches in any sport. Kobe Bryant is the world’s best player and the world’s best defender, in basketball. The Germans are the world’s best defenders in hockey, and are the world champions not once but consistently.

Defence leads to turnovers and prevents dangerous attacks on one’s citadel. It also leads to regular feeding of the forward line. Consistently, and culturally, the defensive skill set has not been imbibed in Indian players at the school level.

One has to only watch 13 – 14 yr German kids being trained and see what their basics skill set is. It is easy, then, to understand why they are winners in both the senior and the junior levels, both in women’s and men’s tournaments.

The obsession with playing style

There is a misconception that playing style is going to make a difference to the fortunes of a team.

Firstly, the playing style is dependent on how the team is drafted. If you have weak midfielders, you can compensate with strong defenders and superfast good dribbling forwards. But your style would have to be to bypass the midfield and play long balls to the forwards.

In the Aussie style, with a very strong midfield, you may be able to take a little chance with your defense, since the midfield would cover up for the defensive weaknesses.

The German style is all-round, all-purpose, with solid, tight, man-to-man marking and forwards using intelligent passing to get into open gaps to put pressure on opposing defences.

Again, the team would need a bunch of all-rounders, particularly strong defenders, all over the pitch. The Dutch style would need a bunch of slick passers and a superb PC expert, with solid goalkeepers.

The Spanish-style is to have at all times all 11 players behind the ball, i.e. the crowded out defensive style. If you run your offense through a very attacking midfielder like Sardara Singh, you would then get a more attack oriented open style. Any takers for the thought that the delectable Sardara Singh is a problem and not the solution for the Indian team?

The playing style is not going to make a difference as regards the fortunes of the Indian team. A playing style can only be decided by the coach depending on the personnel in his possession, and depending upon how those personnel perform in real game situations, against opponents both weak and strong.

Proper drafting of the proper players, with the skill set needed for modern scientific hockey, is the first step to be taken. A highly “hockey educated” player is the second step. A tactically proficient player is the final step.

If a player does not meet these criteria, he does not belong on the national team, however good his dribbling skills may be, as the whole world talks about Indian players in general.