- 'Most unsporting behaviour': Silver stress with Holland
When Duco Telgenkamp received his gold medal, loud boos echoed through the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in the northwest of Paris. The Dutchman is a hockey Olympic champion - and after his outburst against the defeated Germans, he became the villain. "That was the most unsportsmanlike behavior I've ever seen from a winner," said national player Niklas Wellens.
In the penalty shootout, Orange beat the German world champions 3:1 (1:1, 0:0), and immediately afterwards, Telgenkamp lost his composure. "He had the most beautiful moment of his life, winning gold at the Olympics, and he runs to our goalkeeper who is lying on the ground crying, kneels down and makes the silent gesture," said Wellens.
With his index finger placed over his mouth, the Dutchman confronted Jean-Paul Danneberg. Wellens then got into a scuffle with several Dutchmen. Danneberg had claimed before the final of the arch-rivals that "the Dutch are really scared."
"I find it a bit questionable. If you win gold, I would go to my guys and celebrate," said Tom Grambusch. "There were a couple of comments before that weren't bad, that's part of it. That it escalated like this is unsightly." The Germans seem to have no interest in a clarifying conversation with the Dutch: "It will stay like this."
Strength not shown in penalty shootout
In the end, the Dutch celebrated a 3:1 (1:1, 0:0) win over the German world champions in the penalty shootout, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz watching. Twelve years after the team's last Olympic victory in London, the German Hockey Federation's selection had set out to triumph again in France. After the disappointment of finishing fourth three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, there is now the first medal since 2016.
"That was an incredibly strong game from us on many levels. Despite being a goal down, we came back to equalize. We are usually very strong in penalty shootouts, but we didn't bring our qualities today. The Netherlands were simply better," said head coach André Henning.
In the northwest of Paris, Thierry Brinkman (46th minute) put the Netherlands ahead, and Thies Prinz (50th) soon equalized. In the penalty shootout, captain Brinkman, Thijs van Dam, and Telgenkamp secured the victory for Orange. Justus Weigand scored for Germany.
Germany won against the Netherlands in the preliminary round
The eighth Olympic final for a German men's team started cautiously on both sides. Only after ten minutes did Germany come close to the Dutch goal through a sharp pass from Christopher Rühr, but couldn't capitalize on it. The Dutch also struggled to create good chances in the first quarter, focusing instead on being compact and secure.
This was something the German team had often achieved on their way to the final. The German team had qualified for the knockout round with four wins from five group games, conceding few goals. The victories against Argentina in the quarterfinals and India in the semifinals (both 3:2) were dramatic. The Dutch, on the other hand, had an easier time against Spain in the semifinals (4:0), but had already lost 0:1 to Germany in the preliminary round.
At the start of the second quarter, Scholz took his seat at midfield. The SPD politician made his first stop at the Paris hockey games, seated among the honored guests and protected by his security detail. The federal chancellor watched as the Dutch gradually gained more possession but Germany earned the first penalty corner. None of the attempts resulted in a goal by the break.
The second half began cautiously. Thousands of Dutch fans on the tribunes cheered on the reigning EM champions with "Holland" chants - and they had reason to celebrate shortly after the final quarter began. A momentary lapse in defense allowed Brinkman to score the 1:0, but goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg prevented the second goal with a spectacular save. Almost immediately, Prinz equalized with a powerful shot from a penalty corner.
The Dutch team, hailing from The Netherlands, had a previous loss against Germany in the preliminary round, but managed to turn the tables during the Olympic final. Despite Germany's strong performance in the tournament, securing their place in the knockout rounds with minimal goals conceded, they were unable to maintain their form against Orange in the penalty shootout.
