Hockey goes Dutch in the Parisian summer

Before Thijs van Dam left for the Paris Olympics, he had one last glance at the trophy cabinet at his Rotterdam home. In it hung several gold medals won at the Olympic Games, World Cup, World League and Champions Trophy.
None of them belonged to him. They were won by his partner Pien Sanders. Having never won a major gold, the Dutch hockey forward told himself that “it’s time for me to win gold”.
Despite being among the top teams in world hockey, the Dutch men’s team had failed to win the Olympics or World Cup for the last 24 years. The wait ended on Thursday, when Netherlands edged past Germany 1-1 (3-1) to win their third Olympic gold, and first since Sydney 2000.
With the medal in his pocket, van Dam went to the century old Stade Yves-du-Manoir a day later, this time to witness Sanders stand on the top step of the podium as the Dutch women clinched their second successive gold at the Olympics.
While Sanders ran to van Dam to celebrate their success, millions back home savoured the twin wins as Netherlands became the first country in the history of Olympics to win both the hockey golds.
While it is a routine affair for the women’s team to win golds, the men had to endure a long period of frustration before emerging victorious.
Since winning gold at Sydney, the Dutch men’s team has been among the best in the world but hadn’t been able to cross the line first, ending with two silver medals in the five Olympics in between, and five podium spots in six editions of the World Cup.
Though the men had success in the EuroHockey Championship, it was a global gold they wanted badly as finishing on the podium was not enough for the country where only gold medal mattered.
“It was because of my friend Jeroen Delmee. He changed the team and culture. He is strict and maintains discipline but also gave them the freedom to play,” says former India chief coach Sjoerd Marijne, who returned to his home in Den Bosch on Saturday after witnessing the women’s final in Paris. Apart from coaching multiple clubs in the Netherlands, Marijne was also coach of the Dutch women’s team.
“Delmee rekindled the joy and passion in the players and worked hard to build a new team with a new culture, goals and values. It is important being on the pitch but it’s also important to enjoy the game which had gone missing. He made the team play at its best, but with courage.”
Drastic steps were taken post Tokyo 2021 when the Dutch men returned with bronze. One of them was naming two-time Olympic champion Delmee as the new coach. The first thing he did was to drop most of the seniors, even the stars, who had failed deliver gold at multiple Olympics and World Cups.
“In Paris, 13 of the 16 players made their Olympic debuts. They selected skilful players who were determined and eager to perform. They worked very hard on the physical and technical parts,” said Dutchman Siegfried Aikman, FIH high performance senior coach, FIH Academy trainer and educator, from Muscat.
“They play very direct hockey. If they have the ball they go for an attack, rarely playing the ball around. They move forward at a very high pace and put pressure on the defence as a full group,” said Aikman, who has coached many Dutch clubs.
With the new team, the Dutch think-tank was aiming for gold at Los Angeles 2028 with low expectations from all major events until then. Any medal would have been a bonus. Netherlands claimed bronze at the 2023 World Cup, but hopes started rising after the young and energetic team won the extremely competitive EuroHockey Championship last year.
“By winning gold in Paris, they are ahead of the programme as this team was supposed to perform at LA. The team spirit is very good because they are all in the same mould,” said Aikman, who is currently the coach of Oman.
The women, the defending champions, on the other hand continued their dominance after winning their fourth gold in five Games, and their eighth consecutive Olympic podium finish. They have also won four of the last five World Cup titles.
There were no radical changes in the women’s squad. There was no need. But what they did was continue their process of replenishing the team with the timely induction of fresher players, bringing them in to fill positions vacated.
For example, Frederique Matla is the primary penalty corner (PC) specialist who has now won her second successive Olympic gold. But they gave many drag-flick chances to Yibbi Jansen, who won gold at her first Olympics in Paris and is being groomed to take over from Matla.
Significantly, they also have the next succession line ready with Mikki Roberts making her debut in June, maintaining the continuity with quality young players.
“It is a luxury Netherlands has,” concluded Aikman.