Playing hockey aged 88: ‘To play and see our English friends again – that’s a gift for us’

We speak to Netherlands’ 88-year-old captain Walter Hagedoorn, a doctor in economics, on a life in hockey and playing for his country after they beat England for the first time

Did we see a version of Total Hockey just now? 

“You saw everybody was playing with everybody, the passing was short and put yourself available and pass again. We can’t hit that hard but we all played together and kept the ball within the team. It’s about letting the ball do the work and you have to be in the position at the right moment.”