A new generation of Red Lions faces a daunting legacy
Belgium will field a rejuvenated men’s hockey team at the upcoming European Championship in Mönchengladbach, which starts next weekend. "A new era has begun", they say.
Following their quarter-final exit from the Paris Olympics, where they were defending champions, several veteran Red Lions players retired from international duty: Gauthier Boccard, Cédric Charlier, Félix Denayer, Loick Luypaert, Florent van Aubel and John-John Dohmen. These players had helped Belgium win Olympic gold in 2021, silver in 2016, a World Cup title in 2018, a European Championship title in 2019 and victory in the FIH Pro League in 2021.
New era
Since returning to the role of head coach after the Paris Olympics, succeeding Michel van den Heuvel, Shane McLeod has prioritised youth and ushered in a new era. Notably, he selected a younger goalkeeper and left the iconic Vincent Vanasch out of the tournament squad. “It’s a necessary step in the process,” explained the New Zealander. “His successor, Loic Van Doren, needs to gain experience in order to get as close as possible to Vanasch’s level.”
Simon Vandenbroucke (26) has been selected as the second-choice goalkeeper, and Guillaume Hellin (24), Lucas Balthazar (19), Thomas Crols (21) and Roman Duvekot (25) are among the new additions to the squad. “This feels like a dream,” said Duvekot. “We’ve all worked incredibly hard over the years, and now we get to play in a major tournament with the Red Lions.”
We’re all hungry for victories
Maxime Van Oost welcomes the change. "A new era has begun. There’s a lot of excitement in the team and we’re all hungry for victories. There are still many details to iron out, but we’ve already proven that we can beat anyone.” This confidence stems from Belgium’s recent second-place finish in the Pro League, behind the seemingly unbeatable Dutch team.
Great potential
“At the start of the year, there were still many question marks,” added Duvekot. "But I think the younger players have now been integrated well. This team has great potential.”
"We obviously want to win every match and aim for gold, but we also have to be realistic," said Arthur De Sloover, who is now one of the team’s most experienced players. "I’m convinced we should be able to reach the semi-finals, and then we’ll see how far we can go."
Belgium faces a tough group featuring the Netherlands (ranked #1 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH)) and Spain (ranked #4 by the FIH), the team that knocked them out of the Olympic quarter-finals. Finishing in the top two will be no easy task.
We can’t afford any mistakes
"It’s one of the first times that reaching the semi-finals isn’t almost guaranteed for us," admitted De Sloover. "In previous tournaments, we were clearly among the top two in the group, and it would have taken a major slip-up not to advance. But with both the Netherlands and Spain in our group, it’s three teams battling for two spots. We can’t afford any mistakes.”
"Not being the favourites might actually help," he added. "It takes pressure off the younger players. The other teams may also pay less attention to us, which could allow us to catch them off guard.”
The Red Lions will open their campaign on Saturday at 11:00 against Austria (FIH #19), followed by matches against the Netherlands on Sunday at 17:15 and Spain on Tuesday.
© BELGA PHOTO TOM GOYVAERTS
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