‘Hey Duco, did that Danneberg stop any shoot-outs or not? No? Then he should write more about us in the media.‘ When goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak reports to the press well after the medal ceremony to give his reaction, it is immediately clear what the story of the match is. And who, in the eyes of the Dutch players, made sure that they were on their toes for the Olympic final: German goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg.
In the run-up to the final in Paris, the tall German goalie said that the Dutch are afraid of the Germans. He shouldn’t have said that. Because after the Dutch players had seen the article in question, it was printed out and hung up. It worked like a red rag to the well-known bull.
When Duco Telgenkamp scored the Netherlands’ fifth and final shoot-out, giving the Netherlands their first Olympic gold medal in 24 years, the young attacker was overcome with emotion. He went to Danneberg, who was sitting on the ground, put his index finger to his lips and gave him a tap on his goalkeeper’s helmet.
Screenshot from the German website Bild.de, with a response from Jean-Paul Danneberg.
While all the Dutch players were diving on top of the goalkeeper hero Blaak, the German striker Niklas Wellen sprinted to get an answer from Telgenkamp. The young Floris Middendorp jumped in front of his teammates and stopped the tall striker. ‘After all, you have to stand up for your teammates’, Middendorp responded.
After some pushing and pulling, peace was restored, but the Danneberg affair remained the topic of conversation in the historic final that the Netherlands won in the Yves-du-Manoir. ‘In hindsight, I shouldn’t have gone to him. I regret that. I also apologize,’ Telgenkamp (22) said guiltily afterwards. The gold medal dangled around his neck. ‘We won. I should have let it go, this wasn’t very smart. But it’s also a bit of the nature of the beast. I can be very cool-headed, but I can also let myself go. Is that part of it?’
German striker Niklas Wellen comes to Duco Telgenkamp to complain about his unsportsmanlike gesture against Danneberg. Photo: Willem Vernes
‘Look, he affected me personally’, the striker continues. ‘Sports are not business, it doesn’t take much to be provoked. That’s how I go into the match. I felt a bit offended. That boy has done that before. But anyway, in the end I make the last shoot-out. I seek him out. Provocative. You know, we are men among ourselves too. They are angry. We were not afraid. And we have gold.’
It is typical Duco Telgenkamp, a special guy in the hockey world. He talks special, he plays hockey special. Sometimes you don’t see him, then he is suddenly brilliant. He is averse to modesty. ‘I knew I would make it’, he says about his decisive shoot-out. He says it stoically. Like Telgenkamp often is. That is how we got to know him. It is in his blood. ‘I had no doubt in my head or body. It was for me another day at the office. I took it the way I wanted it. Exactly as planned beforehand.’
Duco Telgenkamp after his winning shoot-out against Germany. Photo: Willem Vernes
Telgenkamp had even asked beforehand if he could take the fifth and final shoot-out. In the mixed zone, he was already called the hockey-playing Worthy de Jong by the Dutch press. ‘I wouldn’t want to label myself that. But I do know that I surpass myself at such a moment. That happens when the pressure increases. Then I only become more invincible.’