At a lunch to mark the 75th birthday of world renowned hockey coach Horst Wein, FIH President Leandro Negre presented him with a plinth in recognition of his contribution to the worldwide development of hockey.
Horst, a former German international with a university degree in Physical Education, became a top coach after his playing career, leading Spain to their first ever European title and an Olympic silver medal. He was the first to be awarded the title of FIH Master Coach and also the coach of the first ever European team for their match with Asia in 1975.
Author of a total of 36 books, Horst’s first book, ‘The Science of Hockey’, has sold more copies than any other hockey book. Additionally, he has majored in the ground-breaking concept of ‘Game Intelligence’ in hockey since 2002, and he lectures about this on all four continents.
Horst is also the creator of FUNhocKEY, a game which stimulates and develops creativity and game intelligence for children under 10 years.
Horst’s 75th celebration was also attended by former FIH President and Spanish international Juan Calzado; Patrick Rowley, former international sports journalist and Editor of World Hockey; Jaime Comerma, former Spanish team manager; Khodadad ‘Jimmy’ Jamaspian, the first Iranian international umpire and former FIH official; and Horst’s sons, Christian and Nicholas.
