KARACHI, 16 June 2006 — As the man at the helm of Pakistan’s campaign to regain the world hockey title this fall, Asif Bajwa is looking forward to learning a thing or two about winning at the highest level from some of the globe’s best football coaches during the FIFA World Cup.
“Hockey and football are quite similar and same is the case when it comes to coaches using strategies and tactics in these games. A hockey coach can learn from his counterpart in football and I am hopeful of doing that during the World Cup,” the Pakistan hockey coach told Arab News in an interview here on Friday. For Bajwa and other leading hockey coaches, the FIFA World Cup that kicked off last week, has come at a perfect time. The hockey Would Cup would start almost two months after the globe’s greatest spectacle ends and it would give them ample time to implement any new knowledge they gain from men in charge of the world’s top football teams.
“The (FIFA) World Cup is going to be a great opportunity to learn new tactics,” said Bajwa. “There would be so many leading coaches putting their tactical abilities on display during the tournament.”
The former Olympian, who last month got sweeping powers as the national team’s head coach and manager, says as a football fan he already watches most European league matches but confesses that the World Cup would be a much bigger experience.
He agrees that the 32-nation extravaganza that concludes with the grand finale in Berlin would keep him occupied both as a fan and coach. He would be working overtime over the next few weeks, busy with his team during the day and spending late night hours in front of the television watching football action.
Pakistan have won the World Cup on a record four occasions and were once tagged as the Brazil of the hockey world due to their flair for skills and aggression as well as their habit to win regularly._The former Asian giants have made the cut for the 12-nation Hockey World Cup also to be played in Germany later this year.
But the Pakistanis, who once ran roughshod over their opponents, are nowhere among the leading title contenders for the coveted crown this year because of an indifferent form shown by their team in recent international outings. Bajwa believes his boys will have to somehow combine the attacking flair of Brazil and the rock-solid defense that has been the hallmark of European giants Germany in the world of football to be able to realize their dream of winning hockey’s biggest title in Germany this September.
The tournament is to be played in Monchengladbach from Sept. 6 to 17.
