Spaniards prepare for final conquest

UTRECHT, May 31: The Dutch had begun partying even before the tournament had commenced and they are in no mood to let up in anticipation of ...

UTRECHT, May 31: The Dutch had begun partying even before the tournament had commenced and they are in no mood to let up in anticipation of a Netherlands triumph in the final of the men8217;s World Cup hockey tournament at the Galgenwaard Stadium here on Monday. Never mind that Spain are hardly likely to go down as the Australians did in the semis, but the Dutch are riding high.

Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans, soon after his team gave a 6-2 hiding to Australia on Saturday, replied to a query: quot;It does not matter whether we have to play Germany or Spain. If you want to become a world champion, then you have to be prepared to play any team and win.quot;

At that time, it was virtually taken for granted that Germany will make it to the final, though none had bothered to cross-check with a gentleman called Juan Escarre. The wily mid-fielder was to play one of his best games to fashion a 3-0 victory for Spain in the second semifinal.

While the Dutch have been at the top of world hockey for sometime now, Spain remain anenigma. For a country where hockey is played mainly in Terrassa, about an hour8217;s drive from Barcelona, Spain8217;s performance in the past couple of seasons has been truly outstanding. Two years ago, in the Atlanta Olympics, they finished second to the Netherlands and on Monday, they will be set to conquer the world.

If anything, the Spaniards make no bones about their overly defensive posture while depending largely on individual thrusts from counter-attacks. There is more of football than hockey in their style of play and when the defence is performing at its peak, few teams in the World can really breakthrough.

On Saturday, Germany spent a frustrating 70 minutes trying to break the Spanish shackles. The man-to-man marking and covering was tight and it compelled the Germans to throw more men into the attack, making the Spanish half congested. That was the moment Spain were waiting for as they threw the ball forward for three quick getaways leading to goals.

It will be an acid test for Teun de Nooijer,Stephan Veen and Bram Lomans to crack the Spanish puzzle for, in the goal, they still have to reckon with Ramon Jufresa who has had an outstanding tournament so far.

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At the other end, the Dutch defenders will have to be on their toes to contain Escarre, Pablo Amat, Javier Arnau and Josep Sanchez, all of whom are extremely quick in both running into open spaces as well as positioning themselves inside the circle. The understanding among them is so good that yesterday, Escarre did not even look up when he flicked the ball to his right after entering the circle, and surely enough, found Arnau free to sweep into goal.

For Spain, it will be a test of character to stand up to a team which is bubbling with confidence and would be backed by a sell-out crowd. The closest Spain came to winning was at home in 1971 when they lost to Pakistan in the final. And now, Spain look ripe for success.

Monday8217;s fixtures IST: India vs New Zealand 1.35 p.m., 9/10 play-off; Pakistan vs England 2.35 p.m., 5/6; Koreavs Canada 4.05 p.m., 7/8; Australia vs Germany 5.05 p.m., 3/4; the Netherlands vs Spain final, 7.35 p.m..

Malaysia eleventh

Malaysia overcame Poland 5-4 to finish 11th in the men8217;s World Cup hockey tournament here on Sunday. The Malaysians scored through Mirnawan Nawawi 2, Kuhan Shanmuganathan, Cairil Anwar Azeez and Nor Saiful Zaini, while for Poland, Slawomir Lukaszewski 2, Maciej Matuszynski and Rafal Grotowski scored.