Four-time EHL winner Floris Wortelboer says the fresh-faced squad at Bloemendaal has eased the transition back from the high of Olympic gold, ensuring there has been no major hangover as the Dutch giants get back into the swing of the Hoofdklasse.
They made it three wins from three on Sunday with a 4-0 success against Klein Zwitserland to share top spot at this early stage of the campaign with AH&BC Amsterdam.
It is setting them up nicely for their 14th season in the men’s Euro Hockey League, a campaign which begins on October 3rd against Real Club de Polo.
“For us, it is a great start,” he told the EHL website. “We maybe haven’t played the other top of the league clubs but it’s a good start for us because we all came from a very busy summer and are just together for a few weeks now.”
Looking to an EHL game with Polo in London, the opponent and the venue both first encounters for Wortelboer.
“I didn’t know we hadn’t played them in the last 18 years but, of course, we know Polo quite well! Bloemenedaal and Polo are two of the biggest clubs in Europe and of course the connections with Xavi Lleonart and Yannick van der Drift coming back to us after two years there.
“We know they have a lot of power, especially with Xavi. I think he’s getting a bit old but he’s still very good! These are the kinds of games you want in the EHL, and I think it’s going to be a really tough one.
“It’s also good to see the EHL go to London for the first time and Zach’s [Wallace] old club], bringing it to a new place [and new fans].”
His busy summer culminated in Paris gold in early August for Wortelboer and Jorrit Croon; since then, managing the comedown has been a key task.
“It is difficult because it is one of the biggest achievements in hockey; you train like the whole year for last four years for that moment. Of course, to come back it’s a different environment, a different style.
“But it’s also so nice to come back at this club and you’re back with your friends. We have a bit of a new group, a new coach, all fresh and new which was one of the most important things to settle back in.”
On the player front, there have been big departures with Thierry Brinkman going to Den Bosch and Arthur van Doren to Braxgata.
On the flip side, Australian Olympian Nathan Ephraums joins their forward line while rising talents Jan van’t Land and Lucas Veen moved up from HGC.
Michel van den Heuvel has returned to the club following a spell with the Belgian Red Lions, bringing all the know-how that helped secure EHL gold in 2015 with Oranje-Zwart and then with Bloemendaal in 2018.
“Of course, it’s a shame for us that Arthur and Thierry moved to another club,” Wortelboer said.
“We did know about them in February so we had the chance to sign a few young talents. In the end, we will definitely miss the power of Thierry up front and the solid defence and passes of Arthur in the back.
“But we have already seen Marc Mirailles come in as central defender and do pretty well which is a big plus. Nathan will be really important for us up front.
“We will have to read the game well and probably play a bit different to last year but that’s also a nice challenge for us.”
In those changes, Wortelboer has taken on the captaincy duties for these early phases of the season – a role he will share with Croon when he comes back from injury – but says it will not be a massive change in terms of the responsibility he takes in the team.
“It’s nothing new. Most of the things remain the same; it’s a nice small thing that you are the captain of Bloemendaal. I’m still the same player, same person. So it’s really nice, but that’s it.”