Margot van Geffen is excited to be back on the pitch after a two month break from international action.
Of course, the last time the team was in action, they were on their way to gold at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and the Dutch midfielder smiles as she reflects back.
“When I am looking back, we played so well as a team. I cannot say ‘this player was very, very good’, but instead it was the whole team, we all played well.
“Since then we have had a break and it was very important that we did that. It has allowed us to mentally and physically get back. We needed to have time to get back to a point where we are really excited to play and want to get back again. For me, I am ready to get back on the train again.”
Van Geffen explains that there are still some people from the Olympic squad who have chosen not to come back to full training yet. It is a choice that Head Coach Alyson Annan has encouraged the players to make.
“Alyson, said: ‘Okay, if you don’t want to play this Wednesday or the next game that doesn’t matter, I totally understand.’ And that is a really good way to approach it.”
The result is that nine members of the Olympic squad will be on the team for Wednesday’s match against Belgium. They can certainly expect a rapturous welcome from the home fans.
“I haven’t played in front of a big crowd for a long time, so I am very, very excited,’ says Van Geffen. “It will be great to see all the Orange people cheering and shouting.”
Joining the Olympians will be six or seven players from the development squad, with three players making their debut. Van Geffen says this provides a great opportunity for the players to experience playing in the senior squad and will help them fit in as the season progresses, although her next sentence – delivered with a smile – perhaps underlines the attitude that helps the Netherlands maintain their position at the top of the hockey tree.
“It will give them a taste and if they are good enough, they will stay and, if they are not, then they will know what they need to improve upon and they can go and practice more.”
With the Hockey Pro League, explains Van Geffen, there is always a chance to bring people into the squad, then they go and work on what they need to, before coming back and performing within the squad again.
For the forthcoming match against Belgium, Van Geffen is expecting a tough challenge. “They are a hard team to play against. I will expect a lot from Belgium. If we are playing Belgium 10 times, then we would expect to win seven times butthe other three times they will really push us. We look over our shoulder and they are certainly coming up and getting stronger.”
Watch the full interview on Watch.Hockey.
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