Hockey TV commentator Nick Irvine has witnessed every single Euro Hockey League match that has taken place since the competition was launched way back in October 2007. Over six seasons, Irvine has commentated on a staggering 236 EHL matches, a figure which will be increased to 240 come the completion of the tournament final on Sunday 19th May 2013.
In an interview with EHLHOCKEY.TV, Nick Irvine chats about EHL Final Four, the competing teams and the impending retirement of Netherlands and HC Bloemendaal legend Teun de Nooijer.
EHL: Hi Nick, thanks for talking to us! EHL Final Four at Bloemendaal is fast approaching and it promises to be a hugely exciting event. Are you looking forward to it?
Nick Irvine: “Who isn’t? It’s been a smashing season of EHL action already and I have sneaking suspicion that we have got the best still to come in front of packed stands at the beautiful setting of HC Bloemendaal.”
EHL: We are now just four games away from knowing the winner of this season's Euro Hockey League. How do you rate the teams that are competing in this year's Final Four - KHC Dragons (BEL), Rot-Weiss Koln (GER), Amsterdam H&BC (NED) and HC Bloemendaal (NED)?
Nick Irvine: “We have got four special squads through. The Dragons will wave the Belgian flag proudly as ever and will want to take the step to the next level by winning their semi- final. Barring their way will be Rot-Weiss Köln who, as with all the German clubs at this level, will be well organised and ultra-competitive. Then it’s the double-Dutch affair with Amsterdam facing our Bloemendaal hosts. Amsterdam have missed out on next season’s EHL by failing to qualify for the Hoofdklasse play-offs. That will be hurting and Amsterdam will need to bring all that pain into their semi-final if they are going to bow out in style. Bloemendaal will be confident having beaten Amsterdam in the run-up to the week-end but will carry the weight of hosting responsibility on their shoulders which is never easy.”
EHL: Any predictions about who might win it?
Nick Irvine: “I am a commentator rather than a gambling man or predictor of fortunes but one thing that I am confident in predicting is that we will all be winners simply by witnessing these four top sides battling it out in a competition that everyone has taken to their hearts.”
EHL: You are known for being one of a very small group of people who has witnessed every minute of every Euro Hockey League match that has taken place since the competition was introduced in October 2007. By our reckoning, the tournament final on Sunday 19th May will be your 240th live EHL commentary, which is 16,800 minutes of EHL action, which doesn't even include extra time and penalties! What is your reaction to those stats, and can you pick a favourite game from the 236 that you have witnessed to date?
Nick Irvine: “I am grateful to you for doing the mathematics for me! I have sat down on a number of occasions to do the same thing but it has always defeated me! My reaction is a simple one; I am the luckiest man in the world! The EHL has provided huge entertainment from the first whistle back in 2007. I am both lucky and privileged and I hope that it is a position that I will never take for granted. I believe that I am the only person who has seen every match in every season, every goal, every save, every video referral, every everything!
“And as for the best of the 236 ? Impossible for me to say. To survive in this arena I have developed the capacity to forget, almost immediately, the matches that have preceded the one I am about to do. You could ask me to tell you about a game played only an hour earlier and I would struggle to give you much! It’s odd I know but it works for me. For now I am looking forward to games 237 and 238!”
EHL: You are also known as being a great admirer of Bloemendaal legend Teun de Nooijer, a player who will be retiring from the game at the end of the season. You must be sad to see him go. Where do you place him in the list of great players that have graced the game?
Nick Irvine: “Yes, I am a huge fan of Teun’s and I will be sad to see him go in many ways. I have seen so many great players since I began commentating in 1988 and plenty before that too! The list is huge but I reserve a very top tier for those who are just that little bit more special and who therefore deserve the highest accolade. On that tier are very few but they must all, for me, have the facets of an entertainer, an ambassador for hockey and have enjoyed a career that has endured. Teun is on that tier as, to me, he epitomises all that is good about the game and those that play it. If you were charged with inventing a hockey player to compete at the highest level and to promote the sport you would build another Teun de Nooijer! He is an all -time great and would have won respect from any generation. Have you ever met anyone who didn’t enjoy watching Teun play?”
EHL: Finally, if you were going to give one reason why people should go to Bloemendaal for EHL Final Four, what would it be?
Nick Irvine: “One reason? Emotion. It is going to be another action packed and hugely exciting weekend but this one will be fuelled with the emotion of Teun’s last European appearance and on his home turf too! If you have seen him play over the years go along to say Thank you and Good-bye – if you haven’t seen the maestro perform this is one of your very last chances! It’s going to be another great EHL showcase – guaranteed!”
EHL Final Four - Tournament Information
The Euro Hockey League Final Four competition, which also features the final of the women's EuroHockey Club Champions Cup, takes place at HC Bloemendaal (NED) on 18-19 May 2013. The Semi Finals of the Euro Hockey League will take place on Saturday 18th, with Rot-Weiss Koln of Germany and Belgium's KHC Dragons going head-to-head at 1200 (UTC/GMT +1). Host club HC Bloemendaal take on fellow Dutch outfit Amsterdam H&BC in the second Semi Final, which starts at 14.30.
Sunday will feature three key matches as the European club season reaches its climax. The first match of the day - EHL's Bronze medal match - takes place at 1015. That game is followed at 1245 by the Final of the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup, which sees HC‘s Hertogenbosch and Laren MHC meet in an all-Dutch encounter. The final of the Euro Hockey League takes place at 1515, with the winner getting the chance to lift one the most sought after piece of silverware in men's club hockey - the Alain Danet Trophy.
The complete match schedule for the weekend can be found below.
For those of you who cannot attend, do not despair! As always, the Euro Hockey League will be providing full coverage of the event, with live streaming and complete tournament information being available on ehlhockey.tv and through their Smartphone App which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and on Google Play. The social media coverage will also be extensive, allowing fans to interact through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
What: EHL Final Four (Men) and EuroHockey Club Champions Cup Final (Women)
Where: HC Bloemendaal (NED)
When: 18-19 May 2013
Match Schedule (all times are local - UTC/GMT +1)
Saturday 18 May 2013
12.00: EHL Semi Final 1
KTHC Rot-Weiss Koln (GER) v KHC Dragons (BEL)
14.30: EHL Semi Final 2
HC Bloemendaal (NED) v Amsterdam H&BC (NED)
Sunday 19 May 2013
10.15: EHL 3rd/4th Place Match
12.45: EuroHockey CCC Final (Women)
HC ‘s Hertogenbosch (NED) v Laren MHC (NED)
15.15: Euro Hockey League Final
Note: This match schedule may be subject to amendment or variation by the Tournament Director due to the requirements of television.
Article reproduced with kind permission of Euro Hockey League. Tickets for EHL Final Four can be purchased in the Tickets section of www.ehlhockey.tv, the official website of the Euro Hockey League.
