Brasa failed to catch pulse, sentiments of players: Negi

KOLKATA - Indian hockey coach Jose Brasa has failed to catch the pulse and sentiments of the players by taking decisions on his own without consulting other coaching staff, former international goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi said here Saturday.

“Jose Brasa is a kind of a loner and not a team man. He hardly discusses the problems of the team and its players with the assistant coach. He approaches the media all by himself and restrains the assistant coach from saying anything,” Negi told newspersons on the sidelines of a programme here.

“A good understanding and coordination among the coaches is very much essential for a team’s improvement and consistent performance on the field,” said Negi, whose life and struggle inspired the superhit film “Chak De! India”.

“A coach can become successful only if he can perform his job irrespective of his ego and other problems that may surround the team.”

Having foreign coaches in a team has both positive and negative sides in a country like India where the team members come from diverse regions and cultures, he said.

“Foreign coaches of a team like India have the advantage of not being biased towards any players and they treat all players alike. Also they will not easily succumb to the federation’s pressure on many issues. But they can only be able to produce a successful team if they are able to understand the pulse and sentiments of the players, which Brasa could not,” Negi said.

“As a coach you have to understand that you cannot have the same approach towards all the players of the team. You cannot treat a player coming from Mumbai the way you treat a player coming from Punjab,” he added.

“Priority should be given to sorting out the misunderstandings prevailing in the team. Then only it will be successful and consistent in its performances.”

Asked whether he was ready to take the hot seat of national coach, Negi said: “If the nation demands, I am always willing to offer my services to the game whether it is men’s or women’s hockey.”

He refused to comment on the controversy regarding allegations of some Indian women hockey players of sexual harassment by coach M.K. Kaushik.