The Tribune: Junior star Enrique trying to find feet at senior level

Indervir Grewal

Enrique Gonzalez mesmerised the Lucknow crowd last year with his swirling escape acts through hordes of opponent players. The 21-year-old’s ball control gave opponents a headache, and got the Spaniard the Best Player Award at the Junior World Cup.

“It was an amazing tournament,” said Gonzalez. The reception back home in Madrid was even better, Gonzalez said shyly. “My mother was very happy, told me I was amazing,” added Gonzalez, who plays at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

“My coach (back in Madrid) had told me ‘if you play well, you will win the award’,” said the business administration student.

In Spain, hockey is prominently played in Barcelona, with over 10 players in the national team coming from the Catalan region. Gonzalez was inspired by his father, who played club-level hockey, to take up the sport. “Till 11 years old, I played football,” said the Real Madrid fan.

The junior star said the transition to the senior level had not been easy. “Not at all,” Gonzalez admitted when asked that holding onto the ball was not as easy against senior players.

“I just do what I have to do, what the coach tells me to do,” he said, when asked how he coped with the mental pressure.

He knows that with time he will get better. Gonzalez was named the best junior player of the match between Spain and Netherlands, which his team won 3-2.