I was treated as a slave: National hockey coach

Indian hockey suffered another blow when the national team’s Spanish coach Jose Brasa accused Hockey India of treating him “like a slave”.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: In yet another blow to the Indian hockey, the national team’s Spanish coach Jose Brasa has accused Hockey India of treating him “like a slave”, reports claimed on Friday. In an interview to a leading Indian newspaper, Brasa has alleged that the officials of the Hockey India cheated on him by making false promise of taking care of his family’s accommodation and education at the time of his appointment. Not sparing the senior hockey officials, Brasa accused them of not being serious of reviving the Indian hockey. "I have lost. Your system has won. I tried my best to change it. I pleaded, I cried, I did everything. But it won`t budge," he said. He also said that it’s only in India and Pakistan that a coach has no power to choose his team. "I was expected to conquer the world with my hands tied. I would have quit long ago but for the players," said the upset coach, who became the chief coach in May last year. "Who do I blame, but myself? I trusted them, I thought they were really serious about the revival of Indian hockey, but I was mistaken. If not for the players, I would have left long back. There’s so much talent here, it’s like coaching a bunch of eager kids," the 58-year-old coach added.He also accused that he does not have the right to select his support staffs. "I have no complaints against the other coaches, they are all doing a good job, but shouldn’t I be given a chance to chose persons I want? Shouldn’t my assistants be chosen by me? I wanted (former India captain) Ramandeep ( Singh Grewal) for the Commonwealth Games camp, but have got no reply on his whereabouts as yet." However, he praised the players, who, he thinks, are enormously talented. "They are the only positive ones. The talent here is enormous, it needs to be properly groomed. That’s why I came here, it’s both a joy and challenge to work with these boys. I didn’t come here for money. At the World Cup, I was perhaps the worst-paid of all coaches. I tried my best to bring about some change, but couldn’t break your system. It’s rock solid," he lamented.