Teun de Nooijer

Teun Floris de Nooijer (born March 22, 1976 in Egmond aan den Hoef, Noord-Holland) is a field hockey player from The Netherlands, who twice became Olympic champion with the Dutch national squad: in 1996 and in 2000. He currently plays for Dutch side HC Bloemendaal.

Life and work

He made his debut on June 4, 1994 in a friendly match against New Zealand. Since then the midfielder played over three hundred international matches for the Dutch. On April 4, 2007 he earned his 350th cap for the Netherlands national field hockey team, when the team defeated Belgium (7-3) in a friendly in Boxtel, Noord-Brabant.

De Nooijer started playing hockey at the age of nine, with his brothers in the backyard of their house. He joined HC Alkmaar at the age of eleven, and was selected for the Dutch under-16 team 2 years later. At fifteen, De Nooijer made his debut in the senior men's league with HC Alkmaar, and two years later, he first played in Holland's elite league with HC Bloemendaal. After two seasons wearing the number 11 shirt, De Nooijer switched to the number 14, made famous by Johan Cruijff, and has worn it for club and country ever since. [ [http://www.eurohockeyleague.eu/ehl-2007-2008/ehl-participants/players/teun-de-nooijer Teun de Nooijer | Euro Hockey League ] ] The number was later bestowed on the signature stick he helped to create, the Dita Giga #14.

De Nooijer played for Alkmaar before moving to HC Bloemendaal. After the 1998 Hockey World Cup he played for a couple of months in Germany, at Harvestehuder THC. In the final of the 1998 Hockey World Cup in Utrecht he scored the golden goal in the final against Spain. De Nooijer was named "World Hockey Player of the Year" in 2003, 2005 and 2006 [ [http://www.worldhockey.org/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,1181-144740-161956-5331-262662-news-item,00.html De Nooijer claims record third WorldHockey award] , "worldhockey.org", September 16, 2006] by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). De Nooijer created history when he won the award, which was presented by Jacques Rogge for a record third time. The only other men to have won the award more than once are de Nooijer’s former team mate Stephan Veen (1998, 2000), and Australian Jamie Dwyer (2004, 2007).

Earlier in 2006, de Nooijer was the decisive factor in the Champions Trophy final as the Netherlands claimed a record-equalling eighth crown and de Nooijer's sixth. [ [http://www.worldhockey.org/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,1181-144740-161956-5331-262662-news-item,00.html De Nooijer claims record third WorldHockey award] , "worldhockey.org", September 16, 2006]

De Nooijer is married to Philippa Suxdorf, herself a former German international hockey player with 154 caps under her belt. They have 3 daughters, seven-year-old Philine, five-year-old Lilly, and two-year-old Nana. [ [http://www.eurohockeyleague.eu/ehl-2007-2008/ehl-participants/players/teun-de-nooijer Teun de Nooijer | Euro Hockey League ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.knhb.nl/oranje/interlandhistorie/cDU300_Interlandhistorie.aspx?intPlayerId=167329 Dutch Hockey Federation]