Tips on coaching from Bhutia!
By Ramu Sharma
Bhaichung Bhutia, arguably the first Indian to be picked for an English Club, even if it be only in the second division, appears to have absorbed much more than football while in England, doing duty with Bury FC in London. In the year he has been there he has found out the difference in the standard of the game between Indian clubs and those in England and more importantly, the coaching methods prevailing there.

Turning dreams into reality ?
By Gursharan Singh
ON my way to Kuala Lumpur to umpire the finals of the Thomas and Uber Cup I chanced to have a look at the Straits Times, a widely read newspaper in Singapore. What caught my eye in this daily was the statement of Singapore’s Prime Minister that his country was determined to win the Thomas Cup in 2012. To say that it looked to me an amazing statement would be an understatement. I was stunned. Singapore has nothing to boast about its badminton prowess except producing one world champion, Wong Peng, and that too years ago.

www. cyclepolo.com
By M.S. Unnikrishnan
The Cycle Polo Federation of India (CPFI), custodians of the “common man’s game”, has gone ‘net savvy’ as its activities will now be available on the web. The federation has launched its internet site, available at www.cyclepolo.com.

Menace of British soccer hooliganism
By V. Gangadhar

THE security in Belgium, Holland and Denmark could relax a bit after England were out of the 2000 European Cup Football Championship. Unruly British fans, who had been a menace to civilised society for nearly a decade, slowly and silently marched out of the stadium after the surprise defeat the hands of Rumania. An earlier defeat at the hands of Portugal sealed England’s fate. And Euro 2000 was saved!

In this sporting summer, it is possible to analyse what had gone wrong with the English soccer fan. The tennis at Wimbledon remains a haven for peace. At the slightest sign of crowd disturbance, all that the referee had to do was to raise his voice slightly and say: ‘Silence please’! The crowds became silent and concentrated on the game, the leggy female players and the usual quota of strawberry and cream. Cricket, these days, was slightly noisier in England with the ‘Barmy Army’ downing pints of beer and raising cheers for the home team. Often, there was nothing to shout for, because England was only just above Zimbabwe in international cricket rankings.

But football was different. England who won the 1966 World Cup, had always considered themselves as one of the leading teams in Europe. Yet, from 1996 onwards while playing standards decline, the menace of football hooliganism went up.

Last May, the final of the UEFA cup between Arsenal of England and Galatasary of Turkey, at Copenhagen was married by violence, stabbing and bloodshed. The police had a tough time controlling the situation. Earlier, during the semifinal clash between Galatasary and Liverpool Club of England played at Istanbul violence again reached a pitch and two English fans were killed. The English Football Association apologised to the Copenhagen authorities, but public feeling against British hooliganism was still high. The Turkish fans also instigated violence, but the role of the British hooliganism was more serious.

For over a decade, drunken English louts, armed with chains, clubs and their own fists, calling themselves footballs fans had been menacing international tournaments where England was a participant. They showed the least regard for the local security forces and law and order situation. The English fans attacked not only fans of the rival clubs, but also local policemen who tried to subdue them. Shops were destroyed, their goods looted and there was arson for good measure. It must be said that most of the affected countries treated the rampaging fans with extreme leniency, using only clubs and water cannons to subdue them. Many people felt that even police firing would have been justified.

Who was to blame for such violence? Britain was now sharing the overall prosperity of Europe. Wages had gone up, most people had jobs and could afford foreign holidays. The ‘disgruntled’ middle class of the 1950s portrayed in the plays of John Osborne (‘Look Back In Anger’) as the ‘Angry Young Men generation had no place in present society. Yet, there was a new aggressiveness in the approach which could be traced to the Falklands War when Britain got the better of Argentine on the issue of the possession of the distant Falkland islands. The British aggressiveness was exemplified by the defiant attitude of the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and the virulent media campaign against the Argentinians. Papers like the Sun and the News of the World came up with provocative headlines like “Up Yours, Argies”!

That was in the middle 1980s. Are the British still nursing a hangover of that ‘famous’ victory? Were Englishmen regretting the fall of the empire where once the sun never set?

Did they resent the unpalatable fact that Britain had become a ‘third rate’ power and no longer counted among the world powers? Whatever the problems were, football authorities all over the world clearly blamed the British Government and the English Football Association for the present mess created by their fans. Hooliganism prior to the England vs Germany match prompted the authorities at Brussels to warn the English their team would be thrown out if there was a repeat of the trouble. Fortunately, the exit of England prevented such a situation.

The United European Football Association (UEFA) blamed the British government for failing to stop the hooligans from travelling abroad and urged London to take urgent action. They pointed out that English football hooliganism had been going on for nearly 30 years but nothing had changed. The guilty people were the same, but because of the inaction of the British authorities were only repeating their action. The UEFA spokesman said; “Every other country concerned with the competition took steps to stop known trouble-makers from travelling abroad except England. Now the UK government owes to everyone concerned to take steps, similar to those taken in other parts of the European Union, to stop the hooligans from travelling out of their country.”

This should not be difficult in the computer age when criminal records were up to date. The British police had records of known football hooligans, yet, did nothing to stop them. The reaction from the British Minister for Home Affairs, Lord Baasam, was lukewarm. He pointed out that the British police had worked tirelessly with their counterparts in Europe. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, speaking in Portugal, said he ‘hoped’ that the trouble would die away and did not mention any concrete steps planned by his country. Twentyfour hours after this statement, the British fans once again went berserk.

The UEFA Vice-President, Egidius Braun, who was also the President of the German Football Association, accused British Home Minister Jack Straw of playing politics with the issue. When he told straw the steps taken by Germany to check soccer hooliganism which included preventing known offenders from going abroad, the British Minister replied piously than he could not take similar steps and introduce laws preventing people from leaving the country. “He was definitely playing football politics” charged Braun. He explained how Germany used 2,000 policemen to trace known soccer hooligans, confiscated their passports, put them behind bars and prevented them from going abroad.

The seriousness of the situation could be gauged from the fact that even the tabloid media of the British Isles had woken up to the dangers posed by their crazy soccer fans. Calling them ‘traitors’ the leading tabloid Sun urged they should be called back home and asked; “How come we have a thriving economy, an energetic culture, a wonderful people — and a reputation of producing the worst bunch of cretenous yobbos in the world?”

Tips on coaching from Bhutia!
By Ramu Sharma

Bhaichung Bhutia, arguably the first Indian to be picked for an English Club, even if it be only in the second division, appears to have absorbed much more than football while in England, doing duty with Bury FC in London. In the year he has been there he has found out the difference in the standard of the game between Indian clubs and those in England and more importantly, the coaching methods prevailing there.

Most of what Bhaichung Bhutia has said makes interesting reading and at the outset one is made to feel that we in India, are so ignorant of the basics of good coaching. Not many people, or coaches will disagree with what Bhutia has said in his interview to a leading newspaper but no harm will be done if the coaches assigned to the various clubs, including some of the bigwigs, try and absorb some of the points made. They are so simple that one wonders why we in India did not think about it., or maybe it has been and is still being done in India. It is difficult to believe that our coaches and players do not know the basics.

Bhutia says that whereas in India if there is a game at 3.p.m. “we sit with the coach just half an hour earlier and discuss things without any idea of what game you are going to play where as in England you know three days before which team you are going to play with, study their system, style and train on that.

“Besides, when you play a game you are given a job. It’s not like in India where I play a game without knowing what I am doing. I am only driven by the need to score a goal. There you need to score goals but apart form that you are given a job, that of being a part of a whole team movement.

“Then in India when a defender gets a ball he kicks very long with the strikers having no idea which side the ball is coming. In UK everybody, including the goalkeeper, knows which side the defence is kicking the ball as it is part of the training. It’s automatic. When one gets a ball and kicks it towards a particular direction, strikers move into open space and midfielders close the gap,” says Bhutia noting this was the thing he needed to work upon as he was used to speculating which side the ball would land for him to kick.

It is very good to know that Bhutia has learnt so much about the basics of the game. The points he has picked up and revealed in the interview are so basic that one cannot but wonder how he became an icon in India without having much knowledge about these simple, beginner’s stuff. It is intended to take Bhutia’s observations lightly but surely what he has stated about some of the ploys have been part of football all the time, even in India.

Without detracting from Bhutia’s observation it would not be out of place here to say that most of the things the footballer has made in the interview is on a comparative note and tends to show Indian coaches in poor light. Not only that if Bhutia is to be believed, the players themselves are so naive that they do not know where the ball is supposed to land, for instance, following a defence clearance.

Indian football standards these days are undeniably poor but there was a time, till the mid-70s, that the country was among the top teams in the continents. And the players and coaches of the period knew what Bhutia appears to have learnt now. And some of the players are still around, though maybe as advisers.

Bhutia may have a point about coaches meeting up with the team half an hour before the match to decide the tactics. But surely since this is a routine, daily affair during tournaments, the last minute brush-up could only be to freshen up the memory about the lessons learnt earlier. And every footballer, who has a price on his skill, would be well versed in the basics of the game. It is essentially in the attitude and more importantly in the degree of physical fitness that Indian football needs to take lessons. Even Bhutia will have to admit that he learnt more about the importance of physical fitness than other things while on duty for Bury.

Coaching is not everyone’s cup of tea. And Bhutia may be right about the planning which goes into every match the team plays. Each coach relates to the opposition in different ways and Bhutia, being very impressionable, has obviously met the right type of people, coaches of his choice.

A simple man, Bhutia has learnt a lot from the way the game is administered and played in England. He cannot pass on the administrative acumen to the bosses in the All-India Football Federation but the points made about the relationship between the players and the coaches and the emphasis on physical fitness, though, now, dawning on the Indians also, will certainly help the game in India if taken seriously.

Taking a match as a whole, or preparing for a opponent three to four days in advance instead of planning half an hour before the match and other such details, though seemingly simple, can sometimes be dismissed as something not worth wasting time. But given the Indian ethos, and the rivalry among the teams, it is always advisable if the coach and the team plan well in advance even if the players are fully versed with the tactics of the other team.

Bhutia wants to share his experience of football in England with his friends in India. And he has some interesting observations to make particularly in relation to his experience in India. One of things pertains to food. From pre-match, pre-season foods to holiday programmes, Bhutia says, his club Bury has provided him with all sorts of fitness programmes. “Bury is a small club but even it has doctors who knows precisely what I need to work on, which part of the body needs to gain weight. It’s amazing how different things are.” According to him Indian attitude towards training is very casual. “I was even punished once wanting to drink water because practice time was up. The dehydration could have actually killed me.

Turning dreams into reality ?
By Gursharan Singh

ON my way to Kuala Lumpur to umpire the finals of the Thomas and Uber Cup I chanced to have a look at the Straits Times, a widely read newspaper in Singapore. What caught my eye in this daily was the statement of Singapore’s Prime Minister that his country was determined to win the Thomas Cup in 2012. To say that it looked to me an amazing statement would be an understatement. I was stunned. Singapore has nothing to boast about its badminton prowess except producing one world champion, Wong Peng, and that too years ago.

I was thinking about the statement when I saw Zhao Jian Hua entering the plane. Hua has been world champion thrice. He sat next to me. Having known each other for a long time, we started talking about the progress of the game the world over. I showed him the copy of Straits Times carrying the Prime Minister’s statement and tried to guage his views on the subject. (Zhao has now settled in Singapore). It was amazing that Zhao believed what the Prime Minister had said. He analysed the situation and it completely changed my views.

Zhao feels that first of all, Singapore needs to put a professional management team in place to run its badminton association. The current management team consists of volunteers, who have other full-time jobs. This did not mean the present team was not doing a good job, but since they had been there for a very long time and nothing significant had resulted , Zhao felt it was time for new blood to be injected. New ideas to improve management would make the association achieve greater heights. The team would consist of a full-time staff with proven track records , in either playing badminton or managing sports clubs. They would have to be fully committed to the job, and would be held responsible for the performance of the association. The new team would , besides providing logistic and administrative support:

— Be fully responsible for the welfare of the players and the coaches.

— Look for innovative ways to attract more talented young players to train play full-time for the national squad.

— Form a marketing team to promote the sport, and attract corporate sponsorship for the players, rather than having the players look for sponsorship themselves.

— Grant tax incentives to the corporate sponsors for this purpose.

The management team would not, however, decide what players would be fielded for particular games. This would be left to the expert judgement of the coaches.

Zhao felt , it was critical to have a team of full-time players. Even if the players had the best facilities and the best training programmes, winning the Thomas Cup would remain a dream if they were not fully committed to the training programme.

Most people, including players’ parents, thought that a full-time sportspersons had no real future. Zhao felt that mindset has to be changed and suggested ways to attract talented youngsters to join the team.

His suggestions included:

— Considering playing and training for the country as part of the national service, or even as part of the reservist training. The selection criteria for these players would be very stringent to prevent abuse.

— Set up sports schools for these players and give them sports scholarships, so that even when they retire from playing, they are ensured of proper qualifications. This would allow them to integrate easily into the work force. Perhaps, tertiary institutions could offer special courses like sports psychology, or even physiotherapy. With these qualifications, they could work either in management or as coaches. Zhao says full-time players should be paid well, with incentives and bonuses if they are to perform to the optimum. For that it is critical to have a team of full-time professional coaches and give them special bonuses and incentives for good results. They would work to build both skills and team work towards the common goal of winning the Thomas Cup.

Both the management team and the coaches would first set gradual and realistic targets. Zhao says that 2012 is only a few years away and bold steps to change must take place, or winning the Thomas Cup would remain a mere dream. 

www. cyclepolo.com
By M.S. Unnikrishnan

The Cycle Polo Federation of India (CPFI), custodians of the “common man’s game”, has gone ‘net savvy’ as its activities will now be available on the web. The federation has launched its internet site, available at www.cyclepolo.com.

CPFI President Yashwant Singh of Alwar told The Tribune that “it is the only site of its kind, catering to cycle polo, and has links to international cycle polo federations all over the world”.

The CPFI will hold an international meet in India from October 12 to 15 in New Delhi in which five countries — the UK, the USA, Canada, South Africa and Mexico — have already confirmed their participation.

Two Indian coaches are already in the USA and Canada to train teams for the Delhi meet. M L Naik is training the USA team while B Shiv Kumar is honing up the skills of the Canadians.

The CPFI chief said at the initiative of the USA, a World Cycle Polo Association has been formed to popularise the sport all over the world. He said one of the objectives of holding the international meet in Delhi was to get cycle polo in the B-class category, from its present C-class status, so that it can secure a government grant of Rs 3 lakh to hold international events.

The Indian team, though poor cousins compared to their rich counterparts from other countries, had done the country proud by winning the second International Cycle Polo Championship at Vancouver, Canada in August last year, in which the USA, Canada, South Africa, Mexico and Scotland had participated.

Plans are afoot to give cycle polo a big boost in the country, as it was not an expensive sport, and could gain currency quickly. But lack of funds had held back the federation’s plans, but once it was promoted to the B-category, Mr Yashwant Singh was hopeful that the CPFI would be able to give the sport a big push.