No Felice Albers, No Laura Nunnink, No Emma Reijnen, No Jip Dicke. Injuries Cast A Shadow About The European Championship of the Dutch National Teamwho will nevertheless take fourteen Olympic champions from Paris in Mönchengladbach. “Despite the absence of different players, we clearly still travel to Germany with a top team,” the national coach Raoul Ehren emphasized.
Of course there is still sufficient quality on the field at the EC. ‘Last week we played our first exhibition game after the holidays, against Belgium. We won that convincingly 6-1. We got out of the break. The ladies are completely fresh again. With this selection we cannot settle for slightly less than gold, “emphasized Ehren, who nevertheless has to miss a number of players.
Even before the start of the Pro League campaign in June, the selection of the Dutch national team started to thinly thinning. Laura Nunnink tore the cruciate ligament of her right knee in the NK final. During the Pro League block, the Dutch suffered a number of setbacks again. Jip Dicke was injured in the international match against Spain. Shortly thereafter, Emma Reijnen was also put aside While she tore her front cruciate ligament during training.
In addition to Laura Nunnink, Felice Albers is also missing in the European Championships. Photo: WorldSportpics
We were not convinced that Rosa could process five games in eight days after her injury. Raoul Ehren about the absence of Rosa Fernig
After the two international matches against Belgium, at the end of June in Antwerp, Felice Albers also stopped, says Ehren. ‘Felice turned out not to be fit enough to play the EC. For us that is really a loss because she was in great shape during the Pro League in Amsterdam. There she showed in every game that she was at her highest level. That is precisely the reason why it is such a shame that we have to miss her in Mönchengladbach. ‘
Even in the case of Rosa Fernig, the effects of an injury placed a line through her European Championship. She was injured at the end of the Pro League block in Amsterdam and forced her to miss the two internationals in Antwerp. Earlier this season, another injury also brought a large part of the second half of the season to Fernig aside. Since our restart after the holidays, Rosa trained with us again last week, even completely completely. Medically she is now fit. But we were not convinced that she can already handle five games in eight days, “Ehren explained that his decision not to include Fernig in the European Championship Squad.
National coach Raoul Ehren was not convinced that Rosa Fernig can handle five games in eight days after her injury. Photo: Willem Vernes
Marijn Veen was also out of the running for six weeks
To finish it, Marijn Veen also ended up in the saddle in mid -June. She was also out of the running for six weeks because of an injury on her hand. Only on Monday did she train again for the first time. Nevertheless, in the meantime, Veen was able to continue her running work and keep her in top condition, a windfall for Ehren.
The long list of injuries made the swimming pool a lot thinner. Noor van den Nieuwenhof and Trijntje Beljaars, who had come to the young team at the beginning of May, were therefore recalled by Ehren to the training group after the Pro League matches in Amsterdam. At the end of June they were in the stands during the two international competitions in Antwerp. Ehren: “They were again eligible for a place in the European Championship Squad in recent weeks.”
The high number of injured players automatically reduced the number of buttons that Ehren had to cut. At the back, Pam van der Laan and Danique van der Verdonk won the competition from Noor van den Nieuwenhof, who was designated as a reserve, as Eline Jansen was. At the front, Fay van der Elst forced a place in the EC selection, while Trijntje Beljars stopped. All other choices were no longer a surprise.
The recovered Marleen Jochems returns to the orange selection at the EC. Photo: Willem Vernes
Return or Marleen Jochems
In the midst of all the personal injury there was also good news: the return of Marleen Jochems. Ehren: ‘She entered a special process, where we consciously chose not to let her play in the Pro League. This allowed her to work in peace on full fitness. After the holidays, Marleen joined the group completely. That went surprisingly smoothly: she was soon at the level we had hoped for. ‘
The only decision that Ehren has not yet revealed is how he will distribute the playing time between keepers Anne Veenendaal and Josine Koning. ‘They both did fantastic work during the Pro League. They will both make minutes at the EC. But how exactly, I will keep that to myself for now. ‘
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