A compact midfielder/forward, Jeroen Hertzberger more often than not is in the thick of action donning a Netherlands shirt, be it storming the rival citadel with bursts of speed, scoring from difficult angles, winning one-on-ones or setting up his teammates to find the net.

Jeroen Hertzberger

Hertzberger, 35, however, would probably rate resilience as his greatest strength in an international career now into its 14^th year. He was dropped from the Dutch under-18s and, after graduating into the Oranje senior ranks suffered a similar fate before the 2012 London Olympics.

Hertzberger who plays for Rotterdam in the Dutch premier league also struggled to retain his place in the first XI of his club during his early days but his fortitude and determination enabled him to bounce back from rejection to become a key striker for the Netherlands.

His career now spans more than 230 internationals in which he’s found the net more than 110 times.

Curiously, Hertzberger was equally adept at football during his boyhood days but made a choice at 16 that hockey would be his pursuit.

Strangely, he took to the game, not in The Netherlands where the game thrives but in Austria where his family lived at the time.

After Hertzberger was dropped from the u-18 national side, he realized the need to become physically stronger. After building muscle in the gym, he was better equipped to regain his place in the Dutch junior squad and, in time, even get a call-up to the senior side.

Hertzberger has played two Olympic Games (Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016) and three World Cups  (New Delhi 2010, The Hague 2014 and Bhubaneswar 2018). He has two World Cup silver medals (2014 and 2018) and a bronze (2010).

Two EuroHockey Championship gold medals from London 2015 and Amsterdam 2021 adorn his showcase but none from the Olympics and Hertzberger must desperately want to pick up one at Tokyo 2020 where his dash and skill will be key to Dutch fortunes.