Carvalho

Architect of India’s Asia Cup win

Eight time hockey Olympics champion, India failed to win a medal at the Asian games in Qatar last year. This was for the first time that India, which had produced hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, faced such an ignominy. Earlier, the Indian team came eleventh out of 12 teams in the World cup, sixth at the Commonwealth Games and last in the Champion Trophy at home. Disappointed at Indian team’s performance, the government stuck hockey off its list of sports eligible for extra funding.

Then came on the scene the "Messiah for the Indian hockey". Joaquim Carvalho, popularly called "jack" by his friends, was part of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic squad, considered one of the strongest ever to leave the Indian shores. He was in for a surprise when the Indian Hockey Federation offered him the post of coach of the team.

It was not an easy task to put the Indian team on the rail again. A surprised Carvalho, gave lot of thought to the offer, consulted his friends and family members and finally decided to accept the IHF offer but put forward certain conditions. Besides being given a freehand, he wanted to have supporting staff of his choice and a say in selection of team members. The Federation readily accepted his terms. Losing no time, Carvalho opted for two of his closest friends and former Indian team maters, M.M. Somayya and Mervyn Fernandes, as members of his supporting staff with Mohinder Pal Singh, former ace penalty comer hitter, and Parmeshwaran as assistant coaches.

Carvalho began his training session of the Indian squad in right earnest. A strict disciplinarian, he would not compromise on anything less than the best for his side.
He started paying attention to the minutest detail which other short-term coaches ignored. They included sharpening up play and deep penetration by the forwards, more legwork than better stick work, and sturdiness in midfield and stability in defence.

Carvalho turned out to be a self-made coach who believes that players learn more and quicker on the field than through computers and whiteboards. He made his sessions short, precise and to the point. His motto has been "keep it simple and talk to the players in a language they understand". During his playing days, he recalls, how he used to "spend boring hours listening to lectures from my coaches or watching match videos and promptly forgetting them the minute I left the room".

The Indian team’s performance steadily improved since Carvalho took over the job in March this year and culminated in a massive victory in the Seventh Asia Cup Hockey Championship with a 7-2 drubbing of South Korea, world’s sixth-ranked team.
Carvalho is now credited with motivating a team blamed in the past for lacking both unity and fitness. His mantra has been "hard running, retackling and pressing".
He has now set his eyes on 2008 Olympics in Beijing and says, "Our boys have talent and potential" to excel in China. The ensuing Champions Challenge tournament in Antwerp, the fashion capital of Belgium, would be the first step in the long journey towards regaining India’s pristine hockey glory.

Since his playing days, Indian hockey has slumped to an abysmal low. However, encouraged by the thunderous success in Asia Cup, Carvalho is all set to fine tune his team for Beijing. His long experience and dedication is proving to be an asset. His name stands among the leading hockey players of the sub-continent and he was picked up to play for the World XI in 1985. He also led the Indian team in 1985-86 season and was voted the best centre half in the world. He had been a leading player in 1984 Los Angles Olympics and 1986 World Cup in London..