![]() ![]() We just have to be our best in every game, and work really hard, not expecting. It is clear to everyone that complacency isn’t in the DNA of this Netherlands team – neither the players nor head coach Alyson Annan would allow it. Lauren, as reigning World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League champions, your team will be regarded as favourites, but that will mean little to you. Clearly both of your teams have big targets, and rightly so. We played some Pro League games without the fans, and it was quite a boring setting without anyone cheering, so it was really good to have fans back, especially the Dutch fans who made a great atmosphere there in the Wagener Stadium” Like Lauren said, the moment you experience the fans for the first time again, walking on the pitch with a stadium full of fans, it was a really nice experience. Jorrit Croon: “It was such a great experience to play for a Dutch crowd again. How was it for you, Jorrit? Obviously going into Tokyo on the back of winning the Euros is a huge boost for the team, but the event was so much more than that. Also with Dutch fans, it was even better.” I guess it was almost two years ago, so it was quite a new experience again. For the first game I was looking around the stadium for like five minutes! It was amazing. Lauren, it was a fantastic event, not only for the two Netherlands teams but also for the fact that we saw the return of the fans – it must have been a very special experience. Lauren, Jorrit, thank you so much for talking to us! Before we start talking about Tokyo, we have to reflect on the Euros in Amstelveen. The Netherlands – who recently became European champions for a sixth time, defeating Germany in the competition final – reached Tokyo through the 2019 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, battling powering to a 6-1 win over Pakistan in Match 2 after the first game in Amstelveen finished 4-4.Īhead of their respective Olympic title challenges, we caught up with Lauren Stam and Jorrit Croon to talk about the Games as well as their recent successes at the Euros. Their sensational run to the final of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 ended in defeat to Belgium but reconfirmed their status as one of the very best hockey teams on the planet. ![]() Led by globally respected head coach Max Caldas, the former Argentina international who coached the Netherlands women to Olympic and World Cup glory, the Netherlands men are a phenomenally talented team capable of beating anyone on their day. Can anyone stop the dazzling Dutch from reclaiming their Olympic crown? The team has been almost unstoppable in recent years, claiming the 2018 Women’s World Cup before becoming both FIH Hockey Pro League and European champions in 20. Head coach Alyson Annan, the legendary former Australia international, double Olympic gold medallist and two-time FIH Player of the Year, has created a team very much in her own image: a perfect balance of outrageous talent, discipline and an unbreakable winning mentality. They may not be the reigning Olympic champions, but the Netherlands women are without question the team to beat at Tokyo 2020. ![]() A true global hockey superpower is the subject of our latest Olympic spotlight, with the Netherlands men and women looking to add an Olympic gold medal to the European titles that they both claimed in June. ![]()
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