This Saturday at midday, the president of the Spanish federation, Santiago Deó, was waiting outside the Yves-dur-Manoir stadium, in the peripheral town of Colombes, to go and have lunch while enjoying the sun and the objectives achieved. Both teams had qualified for the quarter-finals (they had made it through four out of six) and the leadership was satisfied with both teams. The following day, in addition, the men’s team was awaited by Belgium, the current Olympic champion and the rival that ousted them three years ago in Tokyo in the quarter-finals. This Sunday at midday, however, the success of the men’s team was not the only one that was expected. Redsticks On the blue artificial turf, the victory was absolute: 3-2 in the semi-finals, a level they had not reached since Beijing 2008, when they won silver. The penultimate stage of the tournament will be played this Tuesday against the Netherlands. Another tough challenge against the team they lost to in the group stage (5-3).
“We have made history,” proclaimed Marc Reyné, who scored the 2-1 in the 55th minute, the decisive lever after Arthur de Sloover instantly equalised after José María Basterra’s goal in the 40th. “I know how difficult it is to beat a team like Belgium, with the experience and the players they have. That’s why I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and now we’re going for it,” he said in an atmosphere of total euphoria.
“The Belgians are a machine,” said coach Max Caldas about the runners-up in the world championships. “They have dominated international hockey for the last 10 or 15 years. I also suffered against Holland and you have to respect them for what they have done,” added the Argentine, who took over after the Tokyo Games, replacing Fred Soyez.
The result did not deny the course of the game. The Spaniards deployed themselves firmly, struck in the final stretch and resisted a distressing outcome. They took the lead thanks to Basterra, their spirit did not decline when the quick equaliser came, and they took off with two consecutive goals in the last quarter by Marc Reyne and Marc Miralles. There were five minutes left, but they still had to emerge victorious from a finale on the edge. Alexander Hendrickx made it 3-2 and, with time already up, the referees blew a penalty-corner after a Belgian complaint. Luckily for the Redsticks, goalkeeper Luis Calzado put the lock on it. Against all odds, another path to an unexpected medal has opened up.
The climb to the semi-finals contrasts with the poor start of the tournament. On the first official day of competition at the Games, early on Saturday 27, Spain was beaten 4-0 by Great Britain. A blow that raised suspicions despite the score being perhaps bigger than the game. They corrected themselves the next day against Germany (2-0), but did not take advantage against France (3-3). They did perform against South Africa (3-0), a team with lesser talent. rankingand left an encouraging image with the Netherlands (3-5; Spain went 0-2 up), a first-rate power that they will face again.
Throughout the preparation phase, the goal of the team led by Max Caldas was always to reach the quarterfinals, but also to avoid finishing fourth in the group, the last, because that would mean a very poisoned match in the qualifying round. They did not achieve this, but they made up for it with a victory that only the most optimistic could have imagined. Belgium was the only undefeated team in the competition.
Throughout its history, the men’s hockey team has won four Olympic medals: bronze in Rome 60 and three silvers (Moscow 80, Atlanta 96 and Beijing 2008).
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