The Netherlands beat Germany in the hockey final in Paris. After that, however, all anyone talks about is an Olympic champion losing his nerve. He then regrets his behavior.
The Dutch national hockey player Duco Telgenkamp regrets his outburst after the Olympic victory against Germany. “I shouldn’t have done that, it was the emotions,” said the 22-year-old. “It wasn’t smart of me to go to the goalkeeper again. I mean, we won and I shouldn’t have let myself go like that.”
After the final, Telgenkamp stood in front of the German goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg and put his index finger over his mouth. He then grabbed the goalkeeper’s helmet. In response to this action, the German striker Niklas Wellen ran towards the Oranje cheering crowd to tell Telgenkamp what he thought. There was a heated exchange of words.
Dutch national coach Jeroen Delmee also criticized the behavior. “Emotions are part of the game, but he still has to get used to a few rules of international hockey, he is still very young,” said Delmee. “You should never touch another player, unfortunately his emotions got the better of him.” According to the coach, the trigger for Telgenkamp’s misstep was Danneberg’s statements in the media.
Telgenkamp confirmed this: “It bothered me personally that Danneberg said we were afraid of them.” The German goalkeeper had said before the final: “We’re going in with our chests really puffed out, because I think the Dutch are really afraid of us.” After the final whistle, Danneberg also condemned Telgenkamp’s action. “It seems like he’s lost a lot of his mind. My deepest condolences for such unsportsmanlike conduct,” said the 21-year-old: “The fans booed him when he got the medal. There’s no greater disgrace.”
National coach brushes off the situation
National coach André Henning does not believe that the fierce dispute after the dramatic Olympic final will have a lasting impact on the relationship between the national hockey teams from Germany and the Netherlands: “We will be able to put that behind us and we are happy for the Dutch. We congratulated them too.”
Source: Stern
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