115 days after the golden conclusion of the home European Championship, the German hockey men started the new Pro League season with a clear defeat. The world and European champions lost to Belgium 1:4 (0:2) in Ireland’s capital Dublin. For the team of national coach André Henning, who took twelve European champions and a few inexperienced players with him to Dublin, only Paul-Philipp Kaufmann scored – making it 1:3.
Before Kaufmann’s goal (36th), top attacker Tom Boon (14th) and double packer Thomas Crols (19th, 33rd) had put the Belgians on the road to victory. Alexander Hendricks (48th) made the final score in the final quarter.
The Pro League is held annually by the World Hockey Federation FIH. There are nine teams taking part in both the men’s and women’s categories, each of which meets the eight others twice. The first place in the final table wins the title, most recently both trophies went to the Netherlands. The competition also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games.
The DHB men finished last season in fourth place and will continue against England on Wednesday (12.30 p.m.). The women, who finished the last Pro League season in seventh place and won European Championship silver in the summer, start the new season against Olympic champions Netherlands on Wednesday night (1.30 a.m.) in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.