The Indian men’s hockey team is poised to continue its fine performance as the FIH Pro League 2020-21 campaign resumes in Argentina.
FIH Pro League
To the uninitiated, the 2020–21 Men’s FIH Pro League is the second season of the FIH Pro League, the premier men’s field hockey national team league series. The tournament started in January 2020 but was halted in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and is set to finish in June 2021. In this nine-team tournament, each team hosts the other twice within a couple of days in a round-robin format.
Both India and Argentina are tied on 10 points with two wins apiece but India have played 4 matches less and have a positive goal difference to show for in this 2020-21 season.
Statistics
The Los Leones (The Lions) hold the edge over India in the head to head for the 7 matches in all competitions since 2013 – winning 4, drawing 1 while losing 2 and have scored more goals 16 to 11 in these matches. But with an identical standing (India: 5th and Argentina: 6th) in both the current FIH World Ranking as well as the FIH Hockey Pro League table, the competition will be fierce and it will be difficult to predict the result.
Argentinian flavour
Adapting to the host nation’s playing style will be the key for the Indian Men’s Hockey Team. Led by Pedro Ibarra and with Juan Vivaldi at the goal, the reigning Olympic champions are without the services of talisman dragflicker Gonzallo Piellat who took a break from Argentina hockey in 2019. However, they have found an able replacement to the fearsome drag-flicks he produced in that of Leandro Tolini who is second on the overall goal scoring charts of this Pro League season with 10 goals.
“Argentina’s style of play is slightly different compared to the teams we played in Europe. We will certainly be using this tour as an opportunity to gather momentum ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Teams around the world are trying to get as much match practice before the Olympics and we are no different. We are grateful to be getting more games under our belt and need to make the most of it. To play the Olympic champions will be challenging but I believe we have the experience and the talent in our ranks to come out victorious.” – Indian Men’s Hockey Team dragflicker and vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh before the start of the Argentinian tour.
Goals galore in friendlies
With 15 goals in the friendly matches, it goes to show how closely contested this match-up is both in terms of FIH rankings and current form. However, both India and Argentina need to shore up their defensive backline of defenders and goalkeepers along with stoppers need to thwart the PC attempts, given the amount of goals they have leaked.
“Having missed match practice for much of last year, we have to cash in on the opportunities we get. It is good for us that we are tested against a tough opponent like Olympic champions Argentina. In both games, we showed a lot of fight and created loads of chances. But we could have scored even more whilst conceding fewer goals. We are working hard to be more compact at the back and being more ruthless going forward.” – captain Manpreet Singh.
Indian Forms and Tactics
Given that there was negligible competitive hockey played for most of 2020 and players were confined to practice and maintain their fitness in closets, India do look sharp in their recent matches. India did have players returning from injury and those who had opted out of the earlier European friendly tour, and it has been a happy return for each of them with captain Manpreet Singh putting across a dominant midfield show, Rupinder Pal Singh adding to his tally of drag-flick goals and Varun Kumar bragging a hat-trick in the two matches. The likes Nilakanta Sharma, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and young forward Shilanand Lakra have provided immaculate assists to back the forward line and also to earn worthy penalty corners (PC).
The European adventure was indeed a fruitful one for the Indians as they were undefeated including a 6-1 mauling of Germany and a narrow 3-2 win against Great Britain while playing a 1-1 draw each with both these teams. This after it had beaten each of the top 3 teams in the world – World Cup winners Belgium, 2019 Pro League champions Australia and Netherlands (in order of their 2020 rankings) on their Pro League debut in their own backyard with all 6 matches being held at the Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha last year.
“The match was very similar to our first practice game. We had opportunities to close out the match but we didn’t take them. Unfortunately, some turnovers in the second half gave them opportunities to come back. You can’t give a team like Argentina chances to get back in the game and not expect them to take it. On the weekend, we need to be more mindful of our thoroughness at both ends of the pitch ensuring we are more frugal in defense and clinical in attack.” – expressed Reid.
Argentina’s counterattack
Argentina on the other hand are coming back from 2 defeats suffered at the hands of Germany last weekend. These were their first competitive matches for over a year due to the pandemic and perhaps a bit rusty to begin with.
“Apart from the result, we are happy to be back after one year. Even in the negative points, we can take something positive from those. We are just three months from the Olympic Games, so we are happy to be back. We did a lot of negative things, but in this moment, it is good because we have time to improve them.” – Argentina’s Nicolas Keenan after the consecutive loss against the German side.
They will be keen to make quick amends and close out gaps as they play India in the double header beginning tomorrow. Argentinian coach Mariano Ronconi acknowledges India’s fine form and his team’s ability to bounce back post the German debacle.
“Yes, it is a different team but a strong one, they are very good. The last games against them were really great and they have been playing international hockey. They have been on tour in Europe so they are coming with more games. Fortunately, this comes when we have had two matches against Germany and after these matches we’ll have to start solving the issues that we think we need to improve before the matches against India.” – Argentinian coach Mariano Ronconi.
Future Plans
“Of course, victorious results would be great, but I think the most important things for us is to get familiar with the way that we play. We will come up against different oppositions to test our theories but also to test the way we play and how we solve problems that other teams will bring to us. That learning – how to solve problems on the go – that is why we are looking forward to playing the Olympic champions, so we can get that extra high level of competition.” – Coach Graham Reid on India’s Olympic preparations.
Telecast
While the opening two practice matches were not telecast or available on live stream, much to the chagrin of Indian hockey fans but both the pro league matches will be televised albeit at very early hours in India. Below are the details of the TV partners and timings.
Although the fans will not be allowed into the stadium itself, there will be plenty who will tune in to watch the Indian team in action at a competitive tournament after long, despite the IPL 2021 Cricket frenzy around. Here’s hoping that the lads would put up a strong and consistent showing much to the delight of millions of hockey fans and give the perfect birthday gift to coach Reid.
Vishy Punditry 