A few months back national hockey assistant coach Jagbir Singh said that the problem with the Indian team is that they play like three separate outfits- the forwards, the mid-fielders and the defenders. Today the exact sentiment was echoed by Maurits Hendriks, the man who guided Spain to its maiden title-win at the Champions Trophy last year.He is now in Hyderabad as a technical advisor for the inaugural edition of the Premier Hockey League."In India, it is quite clearly looked upon as that we have five guys who are responsible for attack and five guys responsible for defence. If you look at the field, you can see that quite clearly. With the power and speed of today's game, attack should be a team responsibility as should be defence,'' said Hendriks.Immense gainHendriks believes the League is the best thing to happen to Indian hockey. He says Indians will gain immensely playing along with foreign players.His brief is to sit with the coaches and do a detailed video analysis of every game."In this league, coaches and players will be allowed to develop major aspects, be it video analysis or be it match preparation. All the tools to make an improvement are at hand,'' said Hendriks.Speculation rifeThe presence of the Spanish chief coach in India at a time when the national team is without a coach has fuelled speculation about Hendriks being a contender for the crown of thorns. The 43-year-old Dutch however, says he is committed to wearing Spanish colours till the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Spanish coach in India as PHL advisor
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