Joep de Mol says the EHL’s return to Eindhoven after an seven-year break is the latest step in HC Oranje-Rood’s resurgence with the club determined to establish itself among Europe’s elite once again.
Now in his 13th season with the club, he knows nothing is a given but next week’s EHL Men’s ROUND1 group phase – where the hosts will meet Real Club de Polo and Wimbledon – marks a significant return.
They do so having topped the Hoofdklasse regular season to qualify for the EHL, achieving a “massive goal” for the club. The playoffs did not work out as hoped but there is renewed purpose in the pursuit of winning a first championship since Oranje-Zwart became Oranje-Rood in 2016.
“The club is very hungry for success again,” de Mol told the EHL website. “That last title came before the merger when there was a lot of success also in the EHL.
“The last 10 years have been kind of dry, building a new club and a new team. We had a really good year last season and I think we’re building towards something good with the EHL is a massive part of that.”
De Mol’s relationship with the competition stretches back long before he became one of Oranje-Rood’s most recognisable figures.
As a youngster, the EHL represented the pinnacle of club hockey, providing many of his earliest memories of the sport’s biggest stars. Those experiences eventually gave way to first-hand involvement, arriving at Oranje Zwart just after their heartbreaking final defeat to Harvestehuder THC in the 2014 GRAND FINAL.
“When I was a young kid, I watched a lot of EHL! For me, it was the epitome of club hockey. I still remember going to Rotterdam when players like Mark Knowles were playing there. Watching those games, Rotterdam-Bloemendaal, is a vivid memory of mine.”
“The year before I joined, I watched at Oranje Zwart. I still don’t know how that happened. Well, I think Oranje Zwart was the better team, saying that very objectively!”
A few months later, he linked up with OZ, coming into a side packed with a seemingly endless list international stars like Vincent Vanasch, Mink van der Weerden, Rashid Mehmood, Muhammed Rizwan and Robert van der Horst.
He immediately collected both Hoofdklasse and EHL titles during his first season, an experience left a lasting impression on the way he views the game.
“My first year joining the club was a very cool experience but also kind of ruined the rest of my career!” he jokes. “You think that’s normal, winning everything in the season. After 13 years in the Hoofdklasse, I’ve come to realise it’s not normal!”
Looking back, he believes that squad deserves to be remembered among the strongest club sides assembled in the modern era.
“I think we had 12 or 13 internationals and then there was me and our current assistant coach Thijs Bams; we were the only players in the team who did not have a cap!
“That team was one of the best club teams that’s ever been assembled, together with the likes of Bloemendaal in their heyday. In every position, we were so stacked, so it was just really fun to be around, learning a lot and looking how they do things.
“I still notice that how I look at the game and how I play the game and how I try to set a team culture, for instance, still comes from how that team did things back then!”
Not all of his EHL memories are positive. One that still lingers is the 2017 final defeat to Rot-Weiss Köln, a result that followed a day after an extraordinary semi-final in which Oranje-Rood overwhelmed Wimbledon 8-0.
“That Wimbledon game was one where everything connected, Sometimes you have those days when everything falls your way.
“But I think we used up all our luck because we lacked that bit of luck in the final against Rot-Weiss. It was a typical game against a German team where you feel like you have the upper hand, you’re playing a really good game and then you look at the score and you’re losing!
“I’m not saying I’m still sleeping bad about it but it is one that I was like, ‘Oh, we really could have won that one.’”
Now, his side is looking to get back into the medal frame with a reasonably settled side. They have added Belgian star Victor Foubert while Jaïr van der Horst and Pim Haring have returned to the club.
They join a side with a Spanish armada of Borja Lacalle – who will meet his former Real Club de Polo team mates – Pol Cabré-Verdiell and Gerard Clapés hot on the heels of their World Cup silver, the prolific Scottish striker Struan Walker and Argentina goalkeeper Tomi Santiago.
Add in Arthur de Sloover and Tjimen Reyenga and it is a well-rounded panel with a wide range of threats.
They have been set a real tester of a group first up with another reunion with Wimbledon alongside Polo in what looks like the strongest of the four pools.
De Mol agrees: “I think it’s a very special draw in which I think three out of the top five teams are together in one pool.
“I think our group stage will feel like we’re already playing EHL finals. So that’s the fun part about it. It also makes you on edge, it makes you sharp and I think that’s what we’re looking for. That’s why we wanted to play EHL, to play these kind of games.”
“We feel like we’re ready and we feel like we’re ready for a challenge.”
The draw also gives him a chance to get a closer look at a couple of the Wimbledon players Louis Tipper and Alex Sheldon – the players behind Inject Hockey channel – whose content and hockey influencers in general became a lively topic of discussion on the Let’s Stick Together podcast which de Mol founded with Phil Roper and Brendan Creed earlier this year.
Alongside his co-hosts, the podcast offers a unique look into hockey in an irreverent style with de Mol’s style particularly up-front.
“I never try to say stuff that is, in my opinion, not true. And you’ve got to deal with the consequences of some things. Sometimes some things will bite you in the ass, but that’s also part of the game!
“I also like to stir the pot a little bit once in a while but I think that’s also good for the game of hockey, that there’s something to talk about. The more we talk about hockey, the bigger the sport becomes.
“I also don’t take myself and I don’t take everyone around me too seriously. And I think that’s what makes it fun.”
For now, though, the focus is firmly on Eindhoven and the opportunity in front of Oranje-Rood. After years rebuilding, de Mol senses a club eager to remind European hockey of its place on the map.
“The main thing is the club is really, really keen to organise it, that everyone feels the buzz around the club that there’s an EHL coming to Eindhoven again and that we’re ready to organise a really nice event.
“We hope Oranje-Rood Heren 1 will show everyone that we’re back on the map so we can play again at Easter, again in Eindhoven!”
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