“We don’t need a foreign coach,” says former India captain Dhanraj Pillay, stating that he would be happy to coach the national team. He has made it quite clear that just a year would be good enough to change the fortunes of Indian team. The chief coach's post of the Indian hockey team is presently lying vacant after the unceremonious exit of Micheal Nobbs recently.
He was quoted by Hindustan Times saying, "Indian hockey does not need a foreign coach. We have been spending a lot of money on foreign coaches but from Gerhard Rach (in 2004 Athens) to Micheal Nobbs (2012 London Olympics), the outcome is the same. Indian hockey is back to square one and we are now struggling to qualify for the World Cup.”
Legendary striker was quoted by Deccan Chronicle saying, "India has no dearth of talent as far as good coaches are concerned. Give me the charge and I promise to deliver results in one year provided I am given a free hand."
Coach of current national champion side , Air India, went onto say "There are instances in the past when coach of the national championship winning side was given the charge of senior men's team. There are many examples like Cedric D'souza, Vasudevan Bhaskaran, Rajinder Singh or Harendra Singh. Then why not me?"
Pillay, however, said that only an Indian coach can understand Indian players well. "About 50 to 60 per cent hockey players in India are not highly qualified. They don't understand the english of foreign coaches and have to depend on interpreters. Foreign coaches also bring their own support staff along with them," he said.
"We taught the world how to play hockey and now our hockey depends on foreign experts. Indian players are matured enough and they don't need to learn the game. Indian hockey needs an expert who can encourage them to do well as a unit," he added.
He doesn’t find Indian hockey's high performance director Roelant Oltmans capable enough to coach the Indian team and was quoted saying, "If Oltmans is such a capable coach, why did he fail to win the title for UP Wizards in HIL where he himself chose his team. It is going to be really tough. India need a miracle to win the title," Pillay concluded.
