India men’s hockey team tweak their playing style: Less Liverpool-style gegenpressing, more of half court press, switching flanks

For years, as it alternated between the ‘European’ and ‘Australian’ styles of play, India’s basic ethos have largely remained unchanged: steal, sprint and score. It’s what made India a dangerous counter-attacking side; a nightmare for their opponents, thrilling for spectators.As the Craig Fulton era in Indian hockey takes shape, the three ‘S’ seem to be taking a different meaning – the emphasis now is more on switching flanks, synchronised movements and steady, structured build-up. This is the biggest takeaway from India’s fortnight-long European sojourn, where they played a total of eight matches against Britain, Belgium, Netherlands and Argentina in the FIH Pro League.Unlike the first impressions, when India were slow and bereft of any adventure against Belgium in Fulton’s maiden game as the team’s coach, it is unlikely that the South African will make a full-blown change in the way the Olympic bronze medalls will play. But some subtle variations seem to be on the cusp.

Switching flanks, selective attacks
There was a marked change in the way India counterattacked.
The idea was simple: if a player won the ball on the left wing then the attack was initiated from the right. The transfer of the ball was swift to make the counter more effective. And when there was no direct route possible to move the ball from one flank to another, the players were happy just to hold on to the possession, battling their instinctive urge to attack.
This was best illustrated during India’s match against England in London. Five minutes into the second quarter, India stole the ball in their half and centre-half Hardik Singh launched a counter. He cut inside from the left and found himself surrounded five red shirts – four blocking the passing options in front of him and another closing in from behind.
Instead of forcing his way through the crowded midfield, as Indian players often do, Hardik spotted Mandeep Singh’s run into the Britain ‘D’ from the opposite flank and without batting an eyelid, he released the striker with a pin-point diagonal ball, which led to a goal.
“So, when we win possession, the thought is to overload on the opposite flank. The advantage of switching the direction quickly is we outnumber our opponents, which gives us a chance for more effective circle entries and shots on goal,” a team member said.
This, in a way, is taking forward former coach Graham Reid’s philosophy but the difference, the team member added, is that ‘under Reid, we didn’t obsess about this every time whereas now, it’s almost a rule.’

“Our counter-attacking style has been evolving after the Olympics. Since the teams are aware of our style, it ended up becoming sort of a basketball match when we attacked from the same side – we moved up-down, up-down with great speed but limited control and hence kept losing the ball,” the member added. “After the Olympics, we trained to hold the ball and launch a counter only when there was a 4 versus 3 or 3 versus 2 situation.”
Add to this the concept of switching flanks and it’s all designed also to improve – to borrow a football jargon – India’s xG, the expected goals ratio and also make India’s circle penetration more purposeful and potent. So, there will be less and less flashy, heavy-metal hockey. Fewer risks, along with selective and controlled attacks will be the mantra going forward.
Half-court press, withdrawn centre forward
What was also noticeable during the long tour was the half-court press, which Fulton employed against the Netherlands.
For a team that often resembled the gegenpressing Liverpool side under Juergen Klopp, this is a profound shift in philosophy. India have been a team that wasn’t afraid to press its opponent high upfield, and they did that aggressively and relentlessly.
India have employed this strategy in the past but Fulton said before leaving for Europe he wants the players to get ‘comfortable with the half-court and playing a little deeper’. This, he said, was essentially to strengthen the defensive structure.

And so, the centre forward, who used to be upfront all the time, often dropped back to shadow the opponent’s centre-half as the midfield and defence lines, too, played deeper than usual in their half.
“The reason for this is the centre forward can block the centre half, who initiates most of the play, and stop the opponents from creating moves, transferring the ball or blocking the through balls. The idea is to make them play in the wide areas, box them into a corner and look for counterattack opportunities,” the team member said.
The member added: “We have two strikers high up the field so when we regain possession, they are ready for the counter. We are learning to counter using 4 or 5 players – two strikers, centre half and centre forward – rather than the whole team moving up, thus leaving the defence open.
It’s not a style set in stone. Against Argentina, for instance, India pressed high and returned to their tried-and-tested methods, giving a hint that it will be a horses-for-courses method.
To provide heft to the defence, Fulton played former captain Manpreet Singh – who has spent his entire career playing in the midfield – as a defender because he is strong on the ball and reads the game well. Changing Manpreet’s position has also given Fulton more attacking options with Vivek Sagar Prasad and Hardik shining in the midfield.
Challenges: Off-the-ball movement, unlocking man-to-man marking
The two weeks and 10 matches in Europe will give Fulton a base to work with in terms of identifying players who will be able to implement his vision and also zero in on the style that best suits the team. He still has a four-nation tournament in Spain next month followed the Asian Champions Trophy to work out the best combinations before the all-important Asian Games, where an Olympic berth will be up for grabs.

The challenge for him, as Reid realised during his tenure, will be to make the players play within the structure and improve their off-the-ball running.
India have found it tough to play against teams that play man-to-man against them. They have problems receiving and creating chances and the synchronised, off-the-ball movements of players to unlock man-to-man marking are often lacking.
This will be crucial not just vis-a-vis the Paris Olympics, where teams like Australia and Britain can make India uncomfortable with this style, but also at the Asian Games where India will be up against potential banana skin opponents like Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, who play man to man.
“We are used to playing zonal – we understand how to position ourselves and create pockets of space in that style. But there is no structure in man-to-man, no obvious pockets of space. The opponents shadow us so to create space, we have to fake runs, then another player has to be there to run into that space… the timing of the run, releasing of the ball and receiving at the right place… there needs to be a lot of understanding between players and that takes time,” a team member said.
Reid had identified these as the key areas in the next step in the evolution of the Indian team that had climbed on the Olympic podium playing fast, counter-attacking hockey. The Australian was asked to leave before he could execute his plans.

They might be Olympic medalls but India is a team that’s still a work in progress. And as someone who was a part of the Belgium set-up that frequently outwitted India, Fulton will know.