Spain Falls in Field Hockey Semifinals, Remembers the Journey to Fight for Bronze: Breakfasts, Laundry, and Barbecues. Far from their level in the quarterfinals against Belgium, nervous and lacking ideas, Spain falls in the semifinals (4-0) against a lethal Dutch team.
Spain arrived in Paris with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics in mind. The last key players of the national team, Pau Quemada, Quico Cortés, David Alegre, and Roc Oliva, retired after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Led by a new coach, Argentine Max Caldas, the team presented a group of young players at the beautiful stadium in Colombes. The captain, Marc Miralles, is 26 years old; the goalkeeper, Luis Calzado, is 23; and the top scorer, Marc Reyné, is 25. Many debuted as internationals in this Olympic cycle, and therefore, the project looked towards the future, four years ahead. But on Sunday in the quarterfinals against Belgium, the champion of everything and the top favorite, surprise!
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Without any pressure and with all the audacity in the world, Spain won and built two scaffolds to climb to the medal. The first, on Tuesday, the semifinals against the Netherlands, ended in a clear defeat, 4-0. The second will come next Thursday, in the fight for bronze, against the loser of the Germany vs. India match.
“Living Together Has Been the Key”
“We will meet, talk, and go for the medal together. It’s what we’ve been doing for the last three years,” explained Álex Alonso, a defender from RS Tenis de Santander, revealing the secret of this team’s possible medal. Since the new coach, Caldas, took over, he worked on technique, tactics, but above all on unity. In previous years, there were too often two groups: the Catalans, mainly from Terrassa, and the rest. That had to end. For example, the coach ordered that during training camps, in Valencia or abroad, they stay in common apartments instead of hotels with individual rooms. Also, being so Argentine, he organized several barbecues to foster friendships.
“Living together has been the key. It’s how we’ve all gotten to know each other. In a hotel room, you spend more time alone, resting. In apartments, one made breakfast, another made dinner, we gathered at the table, took turns washing dishes, doing laundry…” said José Basterra, who noted that in the Villa on Wednesday, before the fight for bronze, “I don’t think there will be time for a barbecue, but we will definitely get together.” Basterra plays for Club de Campo in Madrid, as do five other internationals, while nine play for Catalan clubs, and three – Miralles, Gerard Clapés, and Joaquín Minini – play in the Dutch league, the NBA of the sport.
Many Mistakes in the Semifinal
“These guys are fantastic, I always support them,” said Caldas after the defeat against the Netherlands, summarizing his analysis: “They are very good, and we are on the way to being good.” “We have to stay focused!” he shouted from the bench when midway through the third quarter, the defeat was already a fact. “Oooooooe, oooooooe, oooooooe,” taunted the Dutch fans, a vast majority in the stands, as their team played with the ball.
Unlike in the quarterfinals against Belgium, against the Netherlands, the Spaniards’ legs trembled, their arms shrunk, and their hearts overruled their heads. With the medal so close, such a young and inexperienced team multiplied its mistakes and barely had scoring chances. The Dutch tactics also helped. From the first minute, the Dutch gave the ball to Spain and regrouped at the back to counterattack.
In the midfield, there was no pressure, just waiting. Spain needed creativity, to invent something, but it was not the day. In fact, the clearest chance was a high ball received by Reyné five minutes in; after that, there were only penalty corners – up to four – without success. The Netherlands was comfortable with this scheme because they knew their strengths. In each approach, a goal. A lethal team. They scored one goal per quarter, one each by Jip Janssen, Thierry Brinkman, Thijs Van Dam, and Duco Telgenkamp, and the match was over.
