Hockey: Former coach Jose Brasa backs Van Ass, says HI and SAI treat coaches like puppets

Former India hockey coach Jose Brasa has backed fired coach Paul van Ass and said that Hockey India’s treatment of the Dutchman is nothing new.

“In India, hockey coaches are not considered as knowledgeable people. For Hockey India and SAI, the coaches are just puppets who should move according to their wishes,” he was quoted as saying in a Times of India report .

He also urged HI to bring back Van Ass: “I would urge the authorities to bring Paul van Ass back. He is a wonderful coach and has done really good things for Indian hockey. They shouldn’t let him go.”

Brasa coached the Indian team during the 2010 World Cup, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games — and is known to have introduced a lot of professionalism in the team during his stint.

The Spaniard’s time was marred by a selection controversy because the administration did not allow him to pick the team.

“Your system has won. I tried my best to change it. I pleaded, I cried, I did everything. But it won’t budge,” he had said at the time of leaving.

Brasa feels that hockey administrators continue to be treated with disrespect — and HI chief Narinder Batra isn’t good at his job.

“When the players went on strike before the World Cup in 2010, Mr Batra didn’t handle the situation well. Instead of understanding the players’ perspective, he threatened and punished them for their conduct. This reflected in our results at the World Cup. I feel he is not a good manager and doesn’t value people with wisdom. He should also know where to draw the line. He should let the coaches do their work without interfering in their job,” he told Times of India.

Van Ass claimed that he was fired by Hockey India a week after the Hockey World League Semifinals in Belgium — allegedly after Batra told the team post their win over Malaysia that their performance (a late 3-2 win) was not up to the mark.

A committee will look into the matter and Batra has said that he will go to Netherlands in person and bring Van Ass back if they felt he was a good coach.

The saga continues.

Click here to read the full Times of India report.