Italians are doing it better in hockey – so let’s join their league
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian hockey players have been urged to play in the Italian Hockey League.
Former national player S. Selvaraju, who has been based in Italy for the last five years, believes the move will benefit Malaysian hockey.
Selvaraju’s call is timely in the wake of Malaysia’s humiliating 2-4 defeat to Italy in the recent FIH Series Finals in Bukit Jalil.
Although ranked 32nd in the world, Italy showed they have progressed as a strong field-hockey nation by subjecting the 2018 Asian Games silver medallists to shame at home.
Selvaraju, who made his debut with the Armicora Club in the league in 2013, said it was one of the competitive leagues in Europe.
“I encourage Malaysian players to play in this league, as they’ll only get better,” said the 34-year-old, who has been the assistant coachcum-player for Pistoia Club since last year.
“The Italians play hockey for nine months. We play indoor hockey during winter and field hockey during summer.
“They have 60 clubs under three divisions. They run their leagues professionally and systematically.
“Players from Germany, Holland, Spain and Argentina play in the league and that makes it competitive,”
“It’s a good platform to learn the European style of play, which is one of the best playing styles in the world,” added Selvaraju, who represented Malaysia from 2005 to 2014.
He said they have already engaged Sabah’s Abdul Khaliq Hamirin. Khaliq was the captain who led his state to a gold at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Ipoh last year.
“Khaliq is playing for my club Pistoia. The local players pay the clubs to play in the league but all guest players like Khaliq and I are paid by the club,” he said.
On Thursday, the Perak-born Selvaraju was all smiles when he received the FIH level three coaching certificate from the Italian Hockey Federation (IHF) vice- president Enrico Medda in Florence, Italy.
“I can coach a national team with this certificate now. I thank IHF and my mentor Fillipo Treno for supporting me on this,” said Selvaraju, who has played in eight different leagues.
He played for Universiti Kuala Lumpur in the Malaysian Hockey League and made a special mention of his former club’s team manager Datuk Amir Azhar Ibrahim for playing the key role in his move to Italy.