More than anyone else, the Dutch coach of the Pakistani hockey must be the most anxious man on the Pakistani bench today. Fo in a few hours time, the green-shirts will be opening their much anticipated Olympic campaign against none other, than World Champions, Germany.
Not only will the team be facing an uphill task but it will also be an acid test for Pakistan Hockey Federation that has for long been making tall claims of doing the best for the sport. But coach Roelant Oltmans, who took over last December, is likely to bear the brunt of the results that some fear, may not be as positive as hockey lovers desire.
If one considers the existing situation things are definitely not encouraging. Despite the fact that an upbeat squad won the pre-Olympic tri-nation tournament involving Spain and Argentina.
Oltmans was hired by PHF barely nine months before Athens 2004, in a desperate attempt to lift the sagging fortunes of the hockey team. However, the change did not do the team much good as it has been performing inconsistently. Even Oltmans himself confessed of the team’s lack of preparation, before the team’s departure for Spain. And as if that wasn’t enough, news of centre-half Mohammad Saqlain’s unceremonious exit dealt a blow to the team’s morale. Oltman’s asked Saqlain to be left out of the squad on disciplinary grounds.
The sudden change in the team’s composition too disturbed Pakistan’s build-up to the Olympics. But then, the PHF showed some character and accepted the coach’s decision.
Oltmans, still struggling to prepare the best possible squad for Athens, has to contend with a number of PHF’s follies. The booting of Saqlain was a step that should have been taken more than a year ago. But he and his infamous disciplinary problems were not dealt with, even after PHF secretary Musarrat Ullah Khan openly admitted that the player had had “discipline problem” for the past four years. But lack of discipline is one of the many things that the PHF has been unable to deal with for a long time. For instance, Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad and Tariq Imran, who too had breached the code of conduct, were later accommodated in the team.
Sohail and Waseem, who had decided to go and honour their commitments in the German league, despite being asked to stay on for the Australian tour, were later reinstated in the Pakistani squad. Likewise, Tariq, who had vanished from the Champions Trophy camp following his ouster, was later called up for Asia Cup camp, much against the wishes of the then manager Abdul Rashid Jr.
But the PHF’s follies didn’t end there. Things were left in a quandary when it imposed the so-called “Selection Committee” on Oltmans, just before finalizing the Olympic squad. Neither the chief selector Akhtar Rasool, nor its members Saleern Nazim, Saeed Khan and Hassan Sardar, and even co-opted member Musarrat bothered to visit the training camp. And then, there are the giant egos to take care of.
A marathon meeting was held between Oltmans, PHF president Aziz Khan, Musarrat, Akhtar and Hassan, while Saleem and Saeed preferred to do something else.
With Oltmans and the Selection Committee having a different set of views on the structure of the team, decision making took a backseat as the Committee members decided to settle everything against the Coach’s wishes, three weeks before the team’s departure.
Forward Mohammad Sarwar was controversially axed while full-back Ali Raza, who had not been faring quite well for a long time, was included. The Coach, who had maintained his iron grip on selection till now, finally bowed under pressure, all the while claiming that everything is under control.
Interestingly, the PHF president is hopeful that the Coach will deliver during the Olympics. “Oltmans has enough time to deliver at the Olympics and he is capable of doing that as a lot of things could happen in nine months,” says an optimistic Aziz Khan.
PHF has been trying to create an impression that all possible steps to bring the lost glory back have been taken which also includes the arrival of Oltmans.
There is not an iota of doubt in Oltmans’s standing as a coach. The Dutchman has an impressive track record and has helped his country win Olympic, World and Champions Trophy titles. It was the Dutchman’s professionalism that he did not mince words in saying that he would accept full responsibility of the results whatever they may be. But one did not hear such a statement from the PHF bigwigs
If one takes note of the current circumstances and the short time for the preparation of the squad Oltmans has had, it would only take a miracle for Pakistan to win the gold, or even a place at the podium.
The fact is neither Oltmans has a magic wand nor can he infuse confidence all of a sudden into an outfit that has been plagued by myriads of deficiencies, a legacy PHF’s in competencies.
But the question is why PHF opted to hire the Dutchman just nine months before the Games. The move seems more a PHF attempt to have a scapegoat than a realistic attempt to win the Olympic title.
Perhaps the PHF chieftains have chalked-out an effective plan to absolve themselves of a possible disaster at Olympics. Perhaps they feel it will only be the coach who would face the music in case of a debacle!
PHF should not go scot-free. Pakistan have already gone through the darkest era in hockey under the present PHF. Its miserable performances at Sydney, four years ago, the World Cup, Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2002 and the Champions Trophy in between.
Athens is the last opportunity for the PHF top officials to prove their worth. But then that will mean overcoming their personal in competencies and helping the game prosper.
No doubt Pakistan has won all the laurels under local coaches. But lack of sincerity on part of the coaches and the PHF, and not the dearth of talent is the actual reason for the victory drought since 1994. Our Olympians are at the forefront in criticising Oltmans’s appointment as coach. But what reason can they cite for the disastrous decade under them, despite having extraordinary players like Shahbaz Ahmad.
When team managers themselves were involved in indiscipline, by leaving the training camps for personal gains, then why a strict disciplinarian like Oltmans should not be given full-charge?
If victories could have been achieved only under local coaches then the Portuguese and Greek football teams could not have reached the Euro 2004 final under foreign coaches.
