New Delhi: The Netherlands captain Teun de
Nooijer said his side's World Cup bronze medal finish after
defeating England 4-3 here was a tribute to their veteran
goalkeeper Guus Vogels who retires from international
hockey today.
34-year-old Vogels, acknowledged as one of the great
goalkeepers in history, retired today after playing 264
international and 23 World Cup matches, and de Nooijer said
his side had wanted to win the bronze for him after failing to
reach the final.
"We were disappointed not to have reached the final but
we are happy that we won today for Guss (Vogels). All of us
wanted to win the bronze for him. He is retiring after having
a long and great career," Nooijer said after the match.
"We are the world number three side and it is good that
we won the bronze. We did not have a good World Cup in 2006
(by finishing seventh) and we won bronze here. We are happy,"
said 33-year-old Nooijer, who also played his last World Cup
match today.
Thrice FIH Player of the Year and with more than 400
international caps under his belt, Nooijer today equalled
Pakistani Akhtar Rasool's most medals in a World Cup by
winning his fourth medal(one gold, one silver and two bronze).
On his part, Vogels said he was happy to have been a part
of the Dutch team for 14 years since making his debut in
January 1996. "I am previleged to have been part of the team for such a
long time at the top level. I have very good memories of the
time I had with my team-mates. I had enjoyed playing hockey
and challenging the best players in the world," said Vogels,
who was not selected for the 1998 Dutch World Cup winning
squad.
"I will now spend more time with my family and about
other things I will think over," he added.
Asked about any disappointmnets in his long career,
Vogels said, "Obviously the semifinal defeat against Australia
in the this World Cup. I would have wanted to play in a World
Cup final in my last match. I was also not selected for the
1998 World Cup as the coach thought the other goalkeeper
was better."
Talking about today's match, Vogels said his side played
really well in the second half and praised his captain de
Nooijer for his superb performance.
"England played better in the first half and we came back
really well in the second session. de Nooijer was outstanding.
Obviuosly we would have wanted to play in the final but we
are proud to finish with a bronze medal," he added.
England coach Jason Lee said his players felt the absence
of Mantell Brothers -- Richard and Simon -- in the
tournament.
Richard returned home after twisting his right ankle in
their third match here while Simon was injured before the
World Cup.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, March 13, 2010, 19:54