Pakistan's hockey icon Manzoor Hussain Atif passes away
Brigadier Manzoor Hussain Atif was a larger than life character in the world of hockey. Very few people in their lifetime have as many achievements and in so many multidimensional roles.
As a player and captain as well as a manager/coach he attained the greatest glories. And as an administrator on the national, continental and world stages he left an indelible mark.
Born in Gujarat in Pakistan's Punjab, Atif was educated at Zamindara College Gujrat -- his college won the Punjab University championships for the first time under his captaincy -- and Government College Lahore. He joined the Army and made himself noted in the national championships when representing the Army team.
M H Atif made his international debut at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki when the Pakistan hockey team finished fourth. He was a regular in the eleven when Pakistan won its first ever medal in any sport, a silver, in 1956 at the Melbourne Olyimpics. The 6ft 2in full-back was at the peak of his defensive powers in 1960 when Pakistan claimed its first ever gold, dethroning India, who had won all the last six golds.
In 1964, in his fourth and last Olympic appearance as a player, Atif captained the silver medal winning Pakistan side. In the Asian Games, Atif won two golds in 1958 and 1962 -- when he was also the captain of the side in the latter event.
As a player, Atif is regarded as one of the all-time best left full-backs of Pakistan and he also had the knack of scoring crucial goals off penalty corners in vital matches. He sounded the board in Pakistan's victories in the semifinals of the 1956 and 1960 Olympics as well as the final of the 1962 Asian Games. And in the 1964 Olympics, he was Pakistan's top scorer with six goals. He is one of the only two Pakistanis along with Brig Hameedi to play in four Olympics.
After hanging up his boots as a player he took the managerial role and it was as manager of the national team that Atif attained immortal status.
His first major was the 1968 Olympics. Manzoor Hussain Atif took the managerial role of the national team only nine months prior to the big event. Since 1962, the team's graph was going downwards. Pakistan had lost both the titles: the Olympics and the Asian Games.
He made some courageous decisions.
Abdul Rasheed Junior was a right-in but Atif switched him to centre-forward and trained him to be a poacher who could avail even half chances. Rasheed turned out to be Pakistan's top scorer at the 1968 Olympics.
For left-half, he preferred Gulraiz Akhtar over the popular Fazalur Rehman. Gulraiz Akhtar was not as flashy and attacking but was safer in defence as compared to Fazal, who was taken as a reserve.
As Mexico was at a height of more than 7,000 feet above sea level, so Pakistan's training camp was held at Lower Topa near the hill station of Murree.
Atif's well-prepared Pakistan team regained the gold at Mexico in some style -- winning all its nine matches.
As manager, his only 'failure' was the bronze in the 1976 Olympics though luck also played its part. Atif, as always, had done the proper planning as Pakistan lacked any astro-turf. Atif made arrangements for the team to stay in the Canadian city of Toronto before the tournament to get acclimatised to the astro-turf as well as the Canadian weather, a few weeks before the Olympics.
Pakistan easily qualified for the semis where they came across Australia. The greenshirts began sensationally, taking the lead in the very first minute and it seemed that Pakistan would be all over the Australians.
In the very next minute, the legendary forward Shahnaz Sheikh had to leave the field after being struck by the stick of an Australian player. The Pakistan team lost the composure and the momentum, and resultantly the match as well. They had to settle with the bronze.
Atif was given the managerial role again in 1984, at the Los Angeles Olympics. Australia had beaten Pakistan in as many as the last seven tournaments, and they were everyone's favourites.
Atif accepted the challenge, did his homework thoroughly and discovered their secret of success against Pakistan. Through deep video analysis, he concluded that Australians made sudden forays into the Pakistani territory. These attacks originated from their right side in which invariably as many as seven players including the right full-back, the right-half and the centre-half took part. To counter that Atif adopted the policy of 'nipping in the bud'.
He told his centre-forward to tackle the Aussie centre-half as soon as he entered the Pakistani half. Similarly, the left-in and the left-out were assigned to counter the opponents' right back and right-half respectively.
Pakistan came across Australia in the semifinal and the master strategist's team upset all the calculations and defeated the Aussies -- it was regarded by some as the biggest upset in the team events of that Olympics.
Pakistan then went on to win the final and an Olympic gold for the last time.
Hence he has the unique honour to be directly involved with all the three golds his country obtained at the Olympics, two as manager and one as a player. In addition, he also has two silvers as player -- including one as the captain -- plus one bronze as the manager.
All these achievements make Brigadier Manzoor Hussain Atif not only the greatest Olympian Pakistan has ever produced, but also the most successful hockey Olympian in the history of the world's biggest sporting event and, arguably, the greatest Olympian from any team sport.
However, his finest hour as manager is yet to be mentioned. That was at the Bombay World Cup in 1982. Pakistan, the defending champions, were going through a lean patch prior to the big event. Having won the first two editions they had finished fourth at the third Champions trophy in 1981. Then they failed to win two four-nation tournaments in Europe. It was time for the maestro to step in. Atif assumed the managership and Pakistan entered the World Cup after a four-match series against India. The stuff that Atif's 'dream team' displayed at the fifth World Cup was out of this world. They simply pulverised the opposition in an artistic manner never to be seen again. Pakistan created many records: winning all the games by margins of two or more goals, scoring a record team tally of 38, putting in 12 goals in a single match. And all these records are intact even today.
He had four stints as manager at the Olympics/World Cup during which Pakistan won three golds and one bronze. And in all these, they lost just one match, the semifinal against Australia in the 1976 Olympics.
Atif's influence has been profound at every possible level -- from grass roots to the global. He had the ability to spot genuine talent even on streets. One day while parking his car in front of Rawalpindi's Flashman's Hotel he saw a few boys indulging in a game of hockey on a nearby grassy strip. Atif stood there with his eyes focused on one of the lads who was not letting any boy touch the ball and weaving patterns around them. Atif asked the lad's name and told him to join the national team's camp. That boy was Mohammad Ashfaq who later went down in history as one of the finest inside-rights produced by Pakistan and played a stellar role in Pakistan winning its first grand slam: the 1968 Olympics, 1970 Asian Games and the 1971 World Cup.
After managing the 1968 gold medal winning side he immediately paid attention to raising a second string. Very next year when Pakistan staged an international tournament in Lahore, Atif's newly raised junior string was good enough to take the best in the world. They even defeated the 1968 Olympic silver medallist Australia in the semifinal!
And the final was played between the two Pakistani sides. Atif's hockey activities were temporarily put to halt because of his professional military commitments in the former East Pakistan. In the 1971 war, the brigade under Atif's command was the only one at the Eastern front not to cede a single inch by the time General Niazi signed the surrender documents on the 16th of December.
After spending a couple of years as a Prisoner of War in India, Atif resumed his military duties. After retirement from the Army, the chairman of PIA Air Marshal Nur Khan invited him to join the airlines sports department where he served as the director of sports. His PIA colts' scheme yielded a plethora of quality players for the national hockey team. Then in 1978, Atif became the secretary of PHF with Nur Khan as the president of the body.
This combination of Nur Khan (president PHF) and Atif (secretary PHF) which lasted from 1978-84 saw Pakistan virtually ruling the hockey world winning two World Cups, the Los Angeles Olympic gold, two Asian Games gold, the inaugural Asia Cup and the inaugural Junior World Cup!
Atif remained secretary of PHF from 1978-1990. He also had another brief stint from 1999-2000.
He also made inroads into the international hockey bodies and in no small way. He was the founding secretary of the AHF (Asian Hockey Federation) and held that office for as many as 16 years. At the global level, he played an even longer innings. He was the Vice President of the FIH (International Hockey Federation) from 1982-2001. In addition, he also had the honour to be the first non-European Chairman of the Hockey Rules Board in the history of FIH. The CV is simply awesome.
During these tenures, Atif played a vital role in introduction of many important hockey tournaments including the Champions Trophy, Asia Cup (both men and women), Junior Asia Cup (both men and women).
He was also instrumental in introduction and spread of the game in many parts of the world especially Asia and Africa. In the mid 1970s, he started hockey in the world's biggest country China virtually from scratch; bringing sticks and balls from Pakistan.
A man with great foresight, he had realised very early that the Middle East would soon be a major sports centre. The Pakistan/India hockey series organised by the great visionary in Kuwait and Dubai in the mid 1980s were the first real international hockey activity in that part of the world. Then he went a step further. The two four-nation tournaments in Dubai and Kuwait in January 1986 were the first ever international hockey events to officially offer prize money any where in the world.
A physically imposing personality with articulate manners, as the chairman hockey rules board he introduced some revolutionary changes, none more than the abolition of the off side rule. A daring man who believed in his convictions, he knew that the idea of introducing 'No Offside Rule' would evoke a lot of controversy. And that was how it was received initially.
After a study period, the off side was abolished at all the levels in 1996. It turned out to be a huge success in making the game more attractive with an increased number of field goals and less stoppages and in turn getting more sponsorship and TV exposure. Els van Breda, the president of FIH, remarked that the game of hockey would always be obliged to Atif for 'No Offside Rule'.
Atif also has the distinction of being the first hockey personality to be awarded the Olympic Order of Merit.
Atif and hockey are synonymous and two can't be separated from each other. Qasim Zia became the president of PHF this October. When he named the managerial and selectorial teams of Pakistan's senior and junior strings, it was clear that he has decided to get rid of the dead wood. Not a single person, from the dozen or so listed, was from the pre astro turf era.
Yet, Qasim Zia was wise enough to name M H Atif as advisor. So Atif remained associated with his love till the end. And a few weeks before his death despite poor health he was there at the National hockey Stadium Lahore as chief guest in the final of a tournament where he also distributed prizes.
The man who breathed hockey breathed his last on the 8th of December in an Islamabad hospital on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eidul Azha.
What the great man achieved as player, manager and administrator is virtually impossible to be emulated by any one in any sporting discipline -- a virtual Mount Everest.
