Best pals turn foes
Marhan and Hertzberger face off in first group match
HOCKEY fans may feel perturbed if they see Mohd Marhan Jalil hugging Jeroen Hertzberger like long-lost brothers in the ongoing hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.
One is from Malaysia and the other comes from Holland, the land of tulip fields, in northwestern Europe.
And don’t be surprised if Hertzberger knows a sprinkling of Bahasa Melayu words such as terima kasih. He is, after all, like a brother to Marhan and are the best of buddies on and off the hockey pitch as they played together for the Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysia (UniKL) in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) early this year.
However, come tomorrow, they turn from friends to foes when world No. 12 Malaysia play world No. 4 Holland in the opening Group D match at the Kalinga Stadium.
The 32-year-old Dutch forward is the world’s best penalty corner drag flicker. He scored 12 goals – five field and seven from penalty corners – to help UniKL win the overall title in the MHL.
The fearsome Hertzberger will be leading the Oranje team for the third time in the World Cup. They reached the final at the last edition in The Hague in 2014 but lost out to eventual champions Australia.
The 28-year-old Marhan, who skippered the UniKL team, said he has high respect for Hertzberger, who is his best pal and, of course, a calibre player.
Up against such a player, Marhan knows the mammoth task he faces.
“He played a vital role in helping UniKL win the overall in the MHL by netting 12 goals. He has the ability to score field and penalty corner goals,” said Marhan.
“Hertzberger is a key player for Holland and very deadly in the semi-circle. So the challenge will be on us to stop him from scoring.
“If Holland get a penalty corner, I am the first runner and I’m willing to use my body to stop his drag flick,” said midfielder Marhan.
Hertzberger was part of the Dutch team for the 2007 Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur where they won the bronze medal.
In 2010, Hertzberger played in his first World Cup in New Delhi and scored one goal in Holland’s bronze-medal finish.
In the next edition four years later, he netted four goals for Holland to end up with the silver medal.
Hertzberger is the all-time top scorer in the Euro Hockey League competition with 26 goals.
Marhan said Hertzberger will be going in with guns blazing to score as many goals as possible to help Holland win their fourth World Cup.
“It will be tough playing against Holland as they are a good and capable side. So we have to be on our toes and we cannot afford to make any mistakes in defence as it will be costly for us,” said Marhan.
“I last played Holland in the Test match in 2016 in Amsterdam and we lost 8-1. So we have our backs against the wall to stop them from scoring.”