The Netherlands preview: A must-win for Oranje
As we move closer and closer to the IPCH European Championships 2024, Claus Vestergaard previews each team in order of the World Ranking List. In this edition, he shares his insights on the Dutch national team.
By far the most successful nation in IPCH history, and with an absolutely loaded roster with plenty of lineup flexibility, the Dutch are the clear favorites to win the European championships. Re-win, that is. In fact re-re-re-re-re-win, as The Netherlands is the only nation to ever win an IPCH European Championship, winning all four previous editions.
Despite the impressive streak, the Dutch are under tremendous pressure. Entering every single tournament as favorites, nothing but gold can be considered a success, and by that measure it has been 6 years since the last bit of success: The Dutch have had to settle for bronze and silver in the last two World Cup competitions, being knocked out by Denmark on both occasions. After having cruised to the final in 2022 winning every game by five goals or more, they seemed inevitable champions, but the Danes had other ideas. While the Dutch put on a brave face and celebrated their silver medal, the defeat no doubt stung.
For this tournament, they bring back essentially the same roster, with one notable exception. Wunderkind Rodi Feller has been dropped from the squad. Feller had been starved of playing time for the national team, as head coach Dick Cochius generally preferred the GP Bulls duo of Dennis van den Boomen and Jules van der Heijden which, due to van den Boomens lowered classification points, also allowed for playing the excellent Tim Heere alongside the pair. A sensible decision, no doubt, but a cruel fate for Feller.
Feller is by anyone’s estimation among the very best players in the world, and leaving him out of the squad entirely seems a confounding decision. With no official statements from the Dutch federation, one can only speculate. The combination of an unsettled hierarchy in the squad and lackluster results, may have had tempers flaring.
So after a string of, by their lofty standards, disappointing results the team would already be under a lot of pressure, and with the decision to drop Feller, the pressure increases even further.
With all that said, the Netherlands remains the odds-on favorite for the title. The incredible offensive firepower of the GP Bulls+Heere lineup is unmatched, and perhaps a leaner and more streamlined squad with a more clearly defined hierarchy will prove beneficial. But if the Dutch slip up again, everyone and their mother will be pointing toward omitting Feller as one of the reasons why.