Guest blog by Floris Loeff, former Dutch premier league hockey player
Today World Cup football kicks off in Brazil. In the Netherlands the streets have steadily turned orange over recent weeks. That’s the case in The Hague too, but not just to support the Dutch football team. There is another World Cup going on: field hockey.
Dutch central defender Wouter Jolie (28 years old, 154 caps: second World Cup) shares his experiences of World Cups. And in particular the replay of South Africa’s 2010 World Cup final: Spain – The Netherlands.
Early World Cup memories
“In 1998 my parents took me for the first time to the World Cup Hockey in Utrecht. At the time I was playing for a small club in the Under 16 team and could not have imagined that I would play in the World Cup in The Hague 16 years later. Actually tennis player Pete Sampras was my hero at the time. His service was pure magic. I tried to copy it a million times.
It wasn’t until that World Cup in Utrecht that I started to dream about a hockey career. The Dutch lost 5-1 to Germany in a group stage game, but that didn’t seem to matter. The cheering crowds deeply impressed me and triggered my ambition.”
Becoming a World Cup participant
Soon afterwards Wouter was picked for the Dutch national U16 team and realized he had a talent. The next key moment in his career came when former teammate and Dutch international Diederik van Weel recognized Wouter’s talent and took Wouter under his wings at his first Dutch premier league club, Laren. Three years later he joined the best Dutch player of all time, Teun de Nooijer, to play for the national champions Bloemendaal. “Teun was a role model for me. His professionalism was infinite: he was always out in front during hard training sessions and was incredibly eager to win.”
But the most decisive event was missing the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. “I wasn’t selected, because I’d been enjoying my life as a student too much. I told myself this would never happen again. I made a choice: to live for a real sporting career. Since that moment, I have not missed a single big tournament.”
Now on his second World Cup, he is called the Little General by his teammates. This nickname he acquired from former coach Michel van de Heuvel during his time with the national U21 team and his first years at HC Bloemendaal for the dominating way he leads. “And I am not very tall, hence the addition ‘little’.”
On football, Spain and Robben’s auntie
Wouter remembers watching his first World Cup football in 1998 very vividly. The Dutch played an excellent tournament but capitulated after penalty kicks against Brazil in the semi-finals. “My parents invited my school class to come and watch the games at our home. Everybody was so excited until that fatal series of penalties.”
In 2010, the Dutch football team got even closer to victory. “I was watching the final against Spain on a diving holiday in Egypt with fellow hockey players. In a large crowd of both tourists and Egyptians we stood up and sang our national anthem. By coincidence I was sitting next to the aunt of winger Arjen Robben. After every ball he touched she shouted that she was his favourite auntie. After seeing him famously not scoring when going clear on goal, she kept quiet.” A little later Spanish hero Andres Iniesta hit the net and the Dutch dream was over.
An exciting weekend ahead
“The last Dutch hockey World Cup win was in 1998, but this Sunday the cup can be ours again. And as for Robben’s auntie, I hope she will get her revenge against Spain on Friday evening.”
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This month we celebrate World Cup memories. Also see our interview with Spanish field hockey players Santi Freixa (31) & Ramon Alegre (33) and other articles. What’s your favourite World Cup memory?
