Rein Van Eijk Begins Stint as Belgium Eves Coach with a Bang
Rein Van Eijk has had a fairly successful run as chief coach of the Tamil Nadu Dragons in the revived 6th Men’s Hockey India League in India – where the Chennai franchise emerged as the tabletoppers before losing in the semifinals. The 36-year-old Dutchman has now translated the same degree of ‘coaching success’ as Belgium eves chief coach at the Santiago Del Estero leg of the 2024-25 Pro League.
Read Rein Van Eijk Upbeat About Coaching Belgium Hockey Eves
The former German assistant coach took charge of the Red Panthers in early February – a side that made all and sundry sit up and take notice of them when they made their maiden Olympic semifinal appearance at the 2024 Paris edition under coach Raoul Ehren, who is credited for much of their resurgence and is now installed as the Netherlands’ eves coach.
Rein’s debut as Belgium eves’ coach wasn’t exactly smooth sailing as they trailed hosts Argentina 0-2 before the vastly experienced midfielder and skipper Alix Gerniers (one of the two co-captains besides Michelle Struijk) and fullback Stéphanie Vanden Borre Vanden Borre mounted a resolute comeback to pull off the game 3-2. The Red Panthers were well served by the likes of Alix Gerniers, Michelle Struijk, Emma Puvrez, Charlotte Englebert, Vanessa Blockmans and Ambre Ballenghien, who scored a fine brace to shape up their 2-1 first leg win over Australia. Ballenghien, who missed the Huangzhour leg of the Pro League, was at her best upfront alongside the other young forwards – Charlotte Englebert, Justine Rasir, and Delphine Marien.
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Belgium eves unlike most other teams in the Pro League had more or less a large chunk of the players who featured at the 2024 Paris Olympics (the squad had as many as 13 members of the 2024 Paris Olympics squad that had finished 4th) minus the duo of goalkeeper Aisling D’Hooghe (226 caps) & midfielder & skipper Nelen Barbara (332 caps) who retired from the international stage.
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The Red Panthers were in for some stiff resistance in the 2nd leg by Argentina – both teams were locked in goalless in normal time before he Las Leonas had the last laugh in the shootout. This can be termed as a mild setback for Belgium eves, who subsequently made short work of Australia 3-2 in the 2nd leg. At large, Rein Van Eijk should be chuffed with the way Red Panthers performed in the Santiago Del Estero leg of the 2024-25 Pro League – a performance that have propelled them to the 2nd spot behind the Netherlands in the points tree with 17 points from 8 games – punctuated with 5 wins and 1 draw.
Read Pro League: Indian Men Promise Much But Have Plenty of Room for Improvement
The Red Panthers would resume Pro League action in mid-June in their own backyard at Antwerp with matches lined up against Germany, Spain, India, and the Netherlands. And they can get better from their performances in the Huangzhou and Santiago Del Estero legs of the Pro League.
Image Credit: FIH
