Dress rehearsal for the ultimate pot of gold

Dress rehearsal for the ultimate pot of gold
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

AMSTELVEEN, MAY 23: The Champions Trophy for the top six men's and women's hockey nations starts here on Friday as the last round of sparring gets under way ahead of the Sydney Olympics.

The men's competition is between Australia, The Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Germany and Britain and the women's between Australia, The Netherlands, Argentina, Germany, South Africa and New Zealand.

There is nothing much between Australia, The Netherlands and Spain in the men's competition.

In their quest for an edge the Dutch have built a ``Sydney pitch'', identical to the Sydney Olympic surface, at the Wagener Stadium where the Champions Trophy will be played.

This puts the Champions Trophy into perspective -- it is the last international competition before the Olympic Games in September.

Australia holds the Champions Trophy from Brisbane last June but Australia's coach Terry Walsh last week named The Netherlands as favourites to win this Champions Trophy.

The Netherlands are defending Olympic gold medallists but could only manage third place in Brisbane and lost the European Cup final in September to Germany.

The Netherlands' recent form has been more promising. Last week, The Netherlands and Spain each won a match in a friendly international series and The Netherlands defeated Australia 4-1 on Sunday at Amstelveen.

Spain was in form at Osaka in March, winning the Olympic qualifier outclassing Pakistan in the final. Strikers Xavier Arnau and Eduard Tubau were outstanding and Ramon Jufresa was the best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Korea, Germany and Britain will need to lift their performances by a large margin to be competitive with the top three.

Korea qualified third in Osaka, not showing the form that won them second place in Brisbane's Champions Trophy.

Captain Kang Keon-wook and Song Seong-Tae are Korea's most experienced players but performed so badly coach Kim Sang-Ryul is considering making changes. Kang and Song are in the team and will need to return to form or miss the Sydney Olympics.

Germany, the European Champions, were fifth in the Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy at Kuala Lumpur in February, but could not win either of two series in Australia in April involving India, South Africa and Australia

Britain was fifth in Brisbane, third in the European Cup and qualified fifth in Osaka and has attracted attention by the late inclusion of Russell Garcia, out of suspension for recreational use of cocaine.

Australia, The Netherlands and Argentina are in form but Australia expected to retain its dominance of women's hockey.

Australia's women have won each Champions Trophy, World Cup and Olympic Games since 1993 under coach Ric Charlesworth but he works hard to convince his team they can be beaten to maintain their competitive edge. Sunday's 3-1 loss to Britain in Glasgow is the wake-up call Charlesworth may have wanted for his team.

Argentina is shaping as Australia's toughest competitor and are highly rated by Charlesworth.

Argentina controlled the robust play of South Africa this month in Argentina and have the measure of The Netherlands, winning and losing 2-1 in two warm-up matches last weekend.

Holland under Tom Van't Hek will have a chance to beat either Argentina or Australia. Striker Fatima Moriera de Melo has same lightning reflexes as Aussie Katrina Powell and ability to tip in a goal with a deflection, leaving the 'keeper no chance to save.

South Africa's women will play in their first Champions Trophy, earning a place at the expense of the Koreans. Pietie Coetzee and Caryn Bentley are dangerous strikers. They will need to prove they can stay in the top six ranked teams, but are unlikely to win against the top three.

Germany were disappointing at Milton Keynes in March. Although qualifying comfortably for Sydney, the form of key players Natascha Keller, Britta Becher and Katrina Kauschke was well below last year's Champions Trophy.

New Zealand won the Milton Keynes Olympic Qualifier. Play-maker Tina Bell-Kake is back from retirement and was one of the class players there but is not in Kiwis' Amstelveen lineup to give other players a chance to make the team for Sydney.

This is the first Champions Trophy without Pakistan, relegated after Brisbane and now struggling to find teams wanting to play them.

The results of this Champions Trophy are an indication of Sydney Olympic positions, but only an indication.

None of the 12 coaches will show their best moves here in hockey's equivalent of a poker game where the best cards are held back until the pot of gold is on the table in the form of an Olympic gold medal.