s2h Team

Moritz Fuerste couldn’t resist the itch to wield the hockey stick again. So, dramatically, the German icon came out of retirement and joined Royal Beerschot THC in the Belgian league. Equally dramatically, but not surprisingly, it boosted the Belgian club after an indifferent start to the league. Beerschot have won three on the trot with Fuerste bolstering the midfield and defence and are now fifth on the table after six rounds of the 14-club league.

Fuerste’s presence accounted for much in Sunday’s 4-3 home win over Waterloo Ducks, the European Hockey League champions. As per information received, Fuerste’s play in tandem with Red Lions’ Arthur de Sloover made for a tight defence to help bring the Kontich club three points that took their total to 10 points in the league currently led by L’Oree who have collected 18.

A month shy of turning 36, Moritz Fuerste dusted his stick and responded to Beerschot’s need for a top class player. Fuerste took the place of Argentinean Lucas Rossi whose travel to Belgium has been stalled by administrative hurdles in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The German stalwart, by his own admission in a recent interview with the FIH website, said he never thought of coming back after not playing for the last two years. He began to miss playing hockey and given the fact he’s in good shape – thanks to his company’s activity in organising fitness events — Fuerste decided to play again.

In distant India, fans of Kalinga Lancers would rue the fact that the HIL is in hiatus. Had it not been so, many would swear that the German icon would parade his many wares for the Odisha franchise.

He did so with aplomb at the last edition of the now discontinued HIL. Fuerste emerged joint scorer at the 2017 HIL with 12 goals, two of which he scored from drag flicks to floor Dabang Mumbai 4-1 in the final.

Even more would feel that Fuerste, double Olympic gold medal winner (Beijing 2008 and London 2012), wouldn’t have announced his retirement from all hockey in June 2019 had the HIL not been discontinued.

Fuerste, who also owns a World Cup gold medal (Moenchengladbach 2006), has enjoyed remarkable success at both club and international level. The midfielder, doubling up as drag-flicker, is the first German in the European Hockey League Hall of fame for good reason – he guided his club Uhlenhorster HC, Hamburg, to three titles (2007-8, 2009-10 and 2011-12).

He emerged player of the 2011 EuroHockey Championships in Moechengladbach and was voted 2012 FIH World Player of the Year.

Fuerste, one of six marquee players, was recruited by Ranchi Rhinos for $75,000 in the inaugural year of the HIL (2013-14) and sustained his Midas touch, captaining the team to the title.

He put country before the HIL two seasons later to play the Indoor World Cup but returned to play for Kalinga Lancers in 2015-16 for a fee of $105,000/-. In the following season he guided Lancers to the final where they lost to Punjab Warriors 1-6 but Fuerste offset that disappointment by helping the Odisha side clinch the title in 2017.

Sadly, the HIL has not been held since and Fuerste’s towering presence (literally and figuratively – he is 6 feet 3 inches tall) has been sorely missed by his many fans in India. 

Love for the game was instilled by his father Peter who died in a shipping tragedy when Fuerste was only 11. He attributes his passion and longevity in the game to little or no international age group hockey which according to him kills the joy of a full international debut. Eventually, a sparkling career yielded 268 caps and 112 goals before Fuerste called time after the 2016 Rio Olympics where Germany finished with a bronze medal.

Fuerste’s involvement in the 2005 Junior World Cup campaign ended after he suffered torn ligaments and a broken hand after just three matches.However, a quirk enabled him take part in the Champions Trophy in Chennai later that year after being flown in to replace Bjorn Emmerling who was sidelined by an injury.

A fixture in the national team after that, Fuerste was at the centre of a German wave of success, both indoor and outdoor.

If the postponed Tokyo Olympics scheduled for next year takes place, who knows, we could see Fuerste in German colours as they aim for a fifth gold medal.

Photo at top: Hockey India, others s2h