File photo of Tais Cruz.
like to become the top scorer in the tournament Hockey The World Cup is an achievement. To do so in two consecutive editions requires special talent, especially when it comes at a time when the game was dominated by the Indian subcontinent and was more about ‘artistry’ and ‘skill’ than raw power.
As a Dutchman, Tye Kruij did so in 1973 and 1975 – despite the wildly opposite fortunes of the Netherlands team – mastering penalty corners when they were not as ubiquitous as they are now and playing a big part in making the most of the penalty corners. Play popular in the country. Now 70 and owner of a financial management and advisory firm Kruijs – the Dutch team manager in the 2010 edition – continues to stay updated with the game.
“It would be great to have an India-Holland final but I don’t know, Holland has a new coach and a new team with some youngsters. Again, it is a Dutch team and we have a very good club system so there is a lot of potential. As far as India is concerned, I know the advantage of playing at home, especially in India where the crowd is fantastic. And of course it’s about the quality of the game they play. But if India starts well then I think India has a good chance to reach at least semi-finals.
“Because they (India) have got great skills. And the Australian coach you have (Graham Reid) has found a good combination between playing great hockey and playing to win. You have a very good short corner specialist, which is very important in hockey nowadays, and a good goalkeeper. And these two are a good foundation for a good result for the team, so I have high hopes from them, I hope they do well.”
Incidentally, Kruse was the president of HC Kleine Switzerland, one of the top Dutch clubs, when present Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey turned out for them in 2005–06, one of the few Indians to have played in a foreign league. “I played there all my life and I am still a member. Dilip was one of the players we asked to come and play, he was very nice and a friend. And the center forward, Gagan (Ajit Singh). He There are very, very good people and very good players, it was great to have them,” he revealed.
As a player, however, he was almost single-handedly responsible for denying India the 1973 final, scoring twice to take the game into penalties before India faltered. But more than a personal success, Kruijs sees the Dutch victory as an inflection point in the development of the sport at home, which, like the 1983 World Cup, was aided by television for cricket in India.
“I was only 19 or 20 then, the World Cup was a new competition and it was the first time a hockey tournament was being telecast in the Netherlands. And we started very badly because in the first two matches we played against Argentina and Pakistan, the first one was drawn and the second one was lost and we had only one point. And then, as it always happens in sports, something just happens. And, out of nowhere, we started playing good hockey.
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“Then we got to the semi-finals against Germany and that was the first game that was broadcast live on black-and-white TV in the Netherlands, and we beat Germany in strokes, which became huge because Holland vs. Germany is always special. And Then the same thing happened in the final against India, and a lot of spectacular things happened, the balls were stopped on the goal line and it was very attractive to the public. The whole stadium was orange.
“The Dutch Hockey Federation had about 55,000 people who played hockey. And after we became world champions, within 18 months, we had a million. So the fact that we became champions at home, on television, it That was the beginning of the popularity of hockey in Holland,” he explained.
He has the same hope this time too, although he regrets the absence of Pakistan. “I have been to India many times as a player and manager. And, quite honestly, as a foreign player, I think India is the best country to play hockey. It’s really cool. The crowd – I played in front of around 45,000 people – and the atmosphere is really something special.
“I always say, other hockey countries need India and Pakistan, when they play it is fantastic, there is planning but no strategy really in principle. You have the ball and you go forward, then you lose the ball and everyone goes back, it’s like a non-stop wave, beautiful. Unfortunately Pakistan is not that good at the moment because no one can go there to play and they don’t have the money to go abroad. Fortunately, India is back on top and this is very important for the development of hockey.