Hockey Pro League: Graham Reid remains a friend, even after his India switch, says Dutch coach

NEW DELHI: Max Caldas is a man of a few words. Ask him a question even slightly away from his role, and he will refuse to answer. The Netherlands will soon be in India for their Pro League tie, but the team's coach Caldas doesn't want to talk about his opponents. "You need to ask Graham Reid about it" remains his standard reply whenever a question on analyzing India is thrown at him.


Interestingly, just about a year ago, Reid shared the dugout as Caldas's assistant for the Dutch men's team. In a quick series of events, Reid resigned from his two roles -- assistant coach of the national team and chief coach of Amsterdam club -- to take up Hockey India's offer after Harendra Singh was relieved from coaching duties following the 2018 World Cup in Odisha.

Even though Reid might know a few secrets about how the Dutch team operates before and during matches, Caldas remains firm on the point that it doesn't turn their friendship into rivalry.

"I really like him," Caldas told Timesofindia.com on his relationship with Reid post his resignation from the Dutch team.

Caldas and his boys camped in Kuala Lumpur for a week to acclimatize before arriving in India. The Indian team will make their Pro League debut in the two-match home leg against the Dutch. India had opted out of the league's inaugural season but are well placed now to take on the top teams in this edition as part of their preparation for the Olympics in July-August this year.

"He (Reid) is a very good coach, a very good person. And I support his choice to go to India 100 percent. I always hope that he does well. You always want your friends to do well, and he's a friend of mine. So no (rivalry), nothing at all. I think it's going to be really nice to see him," Caldas added, talking over the phone from Kuala Lumpur.

The last time India played Netherlands was during the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar, when the Orange brigade ended India's campaign with a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals. The visitors went on to reach the final, where they lost to Belgium in a penalty shootout.

Netherlands haven't done much of note since that second consecutive defeat in a World Cup final. Against Pakistan in the Olympic qualifier last year, they escaped with a 4-4 draw in the first match before racing to a 6-1 win in the second. Before that, they had lost to Spain in the semifinals of the European Championship. By Dutch standards, that's not normal.

Even before their departure for India en route Kuala Lumpur, the team suffered a setback when three of their first-choice players -- Robbert Kemperman, Terrance Pieters and Sander Baart -- were ruled out due to injury. Also, Jorrit Croon and Sander de Wijn, who are with the squad in Kuala Lumpur, are injured and won't be available to play against India.

It's going to be a year soon since Reid took over the reins of the Indian team. As his former senior colleague, Caldas is best placed on the sidelines for an opinion on Reid's India graph so far.

"That's a question for Graham Reid," said Caldas.

"I don't want to comment on his job, it's not up to me. I support Graham as a friend. That's about it," he added.

"It's a pleasure to play against India, especially in India. So we look forward to playing those games."

Netherlands arrive in India on Wednesday night (January 15) and will take on the hosts in the first match of the double-header at Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium on Saturday (January 18).