After a delicate summer of 2021 despite winning Olympic gold, Tom Boon managed last season with impressive maturity. Untenable in the division of honor with Leo and hard-hitting with the Red Lions during the Pro League, the Brussels resident confirmed that he was stronger and more regular than ever.
The announcement of his name, emotion invaded the 32-year-old Uccle striker. A face torn between relief and enjoyment. But there is no question for the prolific striker of Leopold, top scorer of the regular season with 44 achievements, and already left on identical bases, since the resumption in September with 12 goals scored in 5 games, to agree an outrageous reaction . The Brussels man welcomed his victory over his Red Lions pals, Victor Wegnez and Cédric Charlier, with enormous humility and a lot of inner joy. This first stick d’or – he had been crowned Espoir during the 2008-2009 season – nevertheless takes on a very special flavor for Tom Boon after 15 months during which he was not spared.
Indeed, the memories of the summer of 2021 and the Tokyo Games remain painful. In question, a simple calf injury in training which deprives him of the first two duels of the tournament but especially of the final against Australia. The striker with 321 caps and more than 200 goals with the Red Lions lived through a painful fortnight even if he also contributed, very largely, to the remarkable triptych after the world title in 2018 and the European coronation in 2020. An ordeal that made him stronger, more mature and more passionate than ever. Because, there was no question for him of complaining about his fate, he immediately got back to work by setting new goals for the national team but also for the club.
No sense of revenge
With Leopold, Tom Boon is reborn from his ashes. But without ever displaying any bitterness or a possible feeling of revenge. He focuses on his game and works selflessly. Despite his experience, he is still fleshing out his game and focusing on defensive duties. He stacks the goals but he works for the collective. The Uccle club then seems well on its way to winning the national laurels as in 2019, but the “Monja” affair annihilates the dreams of this group, which has collapsed because it is paying a high price for an administrative error by one of its leaders. But there again, no question of lending oneself to inappropriate comments. Tom Boon, like his teammates,
This gold stick is therefore a fair reward for the work done during the last season. The votes of all the players and the T1s of the Honor Division were obviously in this direction and reward his regularity found over 12 months. His nomination for the FIH Stars Awards alongside Arthur De Sloover is certainly no coincidence either. Filled and fulfilled father of little Harrison, since last January, Tom Boon is still far from being satisfied. This individual reward will make it possible to soothe certain pains which are still sharp, but it is certainly not an end in itself. The Brussels resident remains more ambitious than ever and is ready to take up the next challenges with panache.
