Last Sunday the Dutch women Hockey team made it to the World Cup finals again after a though match against Australia the day before. As most of the other matches, the game against Ireland was more or less: easy peacy.
As little our country is, as (relatively) few citizens we have, you would expect other bigger countries to be better, or at least the Dutch team would not be that strong as it shows over and over again. Since 1974 the Dutch won the World Cup 8 times, out of only 14 events (since the 80s the World Cup is played ever 4th year, instead of every year). 4 times the Dutch made it to second place, and 1 time to third place. That is almost a 100% score for the top 3!
What is the secret of the Dutch team?
The explanation seems to be a very simple one. The Dutch play hockey so well, since they practise every single day, as professional top sportspeople would do. Most of the other countries, the women do not put that much effort into the sport; They seem to behave in a less professional way, and for some reason don't take the sport to seriously. This message was given be not only the trainer, but several members of the Dutch team in interviews on TV and Radio. Although I like the team to win, I would appreciate it when the playing field becomes a bit more levelled. That'll make the sport more interesting again.
Comments