Netherlands:

His smile was probably impossible to get off his face for the rest of the evening. Lucas Veen is counting the hours towards his very first European club final. A brilliant new chapter in the season of the Bloemendaal midfielder, in which everything he touches seems to turn into gold. And that is also a little bit due to the Brabant sausage rolls this week.

Veen looked around a bit perplexed after the semi-final against Kampong. As if someone had to squeeze his arm every now and then. That it had all really happened. Of course, it was pretty soon about his main contribution to the final score. The 3-0 he put in for an empty goal. Although, walked in?

‘It was indeed harder than it looked,’ Veen laughed. ‘I got the ball a little high. I was already pretty deep. Was already waiting for it a little bit. I had already walked away from my man, because I sensed that the pass could come. In the end I had to take the ball a bit in the run and finish of course. It wasn’t the hardest I’ve ever made, but it wasn’t just done either.

Photo: Willem Vernes

With a rocket towards the field hockey top

It was the final chord in a game that wrung the neck of Michel van den Heuvel’s team within a span of three minutes. In that time frame, the 1-0 and 2-0 fell. ‘I think the best thing is that we did dare to play field hockey today,’ said the six-time international. ‘We really played. We didn’t do that on Thursday against Club de Campo at times. In that one, we were going to defend our lead at the end. Now we didn’t want to defend, we wanted to play field hockey. That suits our game much better. And better with Bloemendaal.’

‘When you do that, you also notice that you force chances and goals. We start playing well. We show that we are better than the opponent. We wanted to hold that initiative more now than in our quarterfinal, when it got a little too exciting and we didn’t dare as much. Now we showed that much more.

Veen (only 21) talks as if he has been around Bloemendaal’s orange for years. We’ve written it before: he was also quick as a fish in the water at ‘t Kopje. But in the meantime, he piles up the new experiences one after the other. After his transfer, his debut with the Oranje followed in the winter. His first training camp with the national team. And so now his European debut, with a final. And that while Veen – we’ll say it again – was still dangling at the bottom of the league with HGC a year ago and eventually relegated. It sometimes seems as if someone strapped a rocket under him on his way to the field hockey top.

Photo: Willem Vernes

TV chef’s sausage rolls

The son of former internationals Stephan Veen and Suzan van der Wielen will not easily praise himself. Above all, he loves living towards these first big club matches of his career. Loves being on the road with the guys he already knows well. With some he even lives in the house. Going internally with your team is very special. I can already enjoy the meeting. This week we are in Oisterwijk, next to the bakery of that guy from Heel Holland Bakt.’ For those in the know: that is indeed Robèrt van Beckhoven, now known as TV chef. ‘Michel allows us one sausage roll a day. And then it’s enough.’

Veen takes another look around Den Bosch’s EHL complex, where the stands are slowly filling up again for the second semifinal of the day. ‘We had to walk in on Field 6, because the game in front of us still had shoot-outs. Then we walked to the main field, through the crowd. Super nice to take in that image. The crowd, the crowds, full stands. Playing in front of that many people is just wonderful to experience. I’m glad I was able to really enjoy it for a while. I try to stay in the moment.

Bloemendaal’s opponent Gantoise qualified for the final at the expense of Rotterdam via shoot-outs. Of course, it could easily be that the final battle will be decided there as well. Veen took his very first shoot-out in December, in an official game of the Dutch national team. He starts chuckling again when the subject comes up: “I’m on the list. I’m one of the players who can take it. So if it’s necessary, sure. But shall we look at that on Monday?’