Dutch hockey teams open European title defense in Germany

The Netherlands' men's and women's hockey teams both begin their European title defense campaigns in Mönchengladbach on Saturday and both are aiming for gold again.

Women's coach Raoul Ehren said expectations are high after the team won the last four European titles. “Everyone expects us to just win,” he said. “But becoming champions doesn't just happen. Belgium and Germany can make things difficult for us.”

The women start in a group with hosts Germany, France and Ireland, a line-up considered less demanding than the other pool.

Men's coach Jeroen Delmee described the championship as “often the hardest tournament to win” because all matches are against top-six teams. The Netherlands share a group with Belgium, Austria and Spain

The Dutch influence extends beyond their own squad: six Spanish players compete in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, and former international Jeroen Hertzberger is now assistant coach of France. The French have also shown form, beating the Netherlands 1-0 and drawing 2-2 in warm-up matches.

Delmee said the warm-ups were experimental and he will field his strongest team in Saturday's opening match against Spain.

The top two teams from each group progress to the semi-finals. Matches will be broadcast live on NOS television and online.