Former Netherlands captain Robert van der Horst has spoken about the upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League men’s matches between the Oranje and Great Britain.
In an interview with FIH, van der Horst – who between 2004 and 2016 made over 270 appearances for the Netherlands, winning two European titles, Olympic and World Cup silver medals as well as being named FIH Player of the Year for 2015 – discussed what it will mean for the players of both teams to return to action after a lengthy and entirely unavoidable lay-off, whilst also giving his thoughts about the strengths of the respective teams.
The 36-year-old retired from international hockey after the Olympic Games of Rio 2016, and currently holds the position of head coach at Eindhoven’s Oranje Rood (formerly Oranje Zwart), the club at which he spent the vast majority of his playing career and where he began playing the sport as a boy.
Hi Robert, thanks for talking to us! After a long break, do you think the players will be feeling excited about the chance to play international hockey again?
Robert van der Horst: “Thanks for having me, first of all! It’s always nice to talk about hockey and Pro League, especially right now. Yes, I think the players are really keen to start playing again. Obviously, it’s been a long period of not really competing with the international program and with the national team. They’ve had some competition played in the past few weeks and months (domestically), but I think it is always nice to play for your country, and compete with your country, against the top teams in the world, so they will love starting to play again.”
With players recovering from injury and re-setting mentally, has the enforced period away resulted in an added appreciation for playing the game?
Robert van der Horst: “In the end, when you have the experience of not being able to play games and want to play games, it is hard, especially with these covid situations over the past few months. Now they are ready to play, I believe, ready to go for it. They have training a lot, played a lot of practice matches also, which is internal so always different. Playing special games, playing games against the best teams in the world, that is what you do it for, right? They will probably love it!”
What are your thoughts about the Great Britain men’s team, and where do you expect the main dangers to come from?
Robert van der Horst: “Well, I haven’t seen them for a long period, because of no hockey! But I looked at the [league] table and they are not so high, but they haven’t played as many matches as some of the other teams. When I look at them, I see a young and talented group with lots of speed in their game, with Phil Roper and Zach Wallace in the team, who are really special players, I think. There is a lot of a talent and future, so hopefully they can bring it and keep it together and start growing as a team and individuals to compete for the highest [level] they can get [to]. Last year they made the last four [FIH Hockey Pro League Grand Final], so they were close to the top teams. It is good for them to play these kinds of matches, to compete again after a long period of not being able to play against the top [teams] in the world. If they can keep it together, with their speed and strength as a team, they will start competing pretty soon, I believe.”
What are your thoughts about your beloved Netherlands team?
Robert van der Horst: “The Netherlands, they have a solid team. They have a lot of experience in the team, but also a lot of young guys that are coming in now, so it could be interesting [to see] what will happen with the team. There are seven to ten players that are over 30, and the goal was always playing in Tokyo [2020 Olympic Games], which has been postponed for a year. On the other hand, the young guys who are coming in are really knocking on the door, so we will see what will happen in terms of the quality and improvement of players. You always think that the selection is settled around half a year before the Olympics, but maybe because of the postponing of the Olympics it will be a bit harder and different for the team. Hopefully it won’t bring too much stress for them. I think it is important that they look as a team to be successful at the Olympics, but it will be interesting.”
An extended interview with Robert van der Horst will feature on FIH channels in the coming months.
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