FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 will be unpredictable, says 1998 WC silver medallist Juan Escarre

The
series
picks
up
with
Spanish
hockey
stalwart
Juan
Escarre,
who
went
back
in
time
to
reflect
on
his
Silver
medal-winning
feat
at
the
1998
World
Cup
and
Spain’s
exciting
rivalry
with
the
Netherlands
during
his
time.

The
Spanish
team,
led
by
Joaquim
Malgosa,
remained
unbeaten
in
the
group
stage,
finishing
second
in
Pool
B
of
the
1998
Men’s
Hockey
World
Cup
with
four
wins
and
a
draw.
They
went
on
to
defeat
Germany
3-0
in
the
Semi-Finals
before
succumbing
to
a
narrow
2-3
loss
to
the
hosts
Netherlands
to
earn
a
silver
medal.

“I
got
injured
in
the
Final.
I
remember,
we
scored
the
first
two
goals,
I
got
injured
and
then
we
lost.
Every
time
I
go
to
the
Netherlands,
they
thank
me
and
say
because
of
my
injury
they
won
the
world
cup,”
Juan
Escarre,
who
scored
three
goals
in
the
tournament,
said.

Speaking
about
his
memories
of
the
1998
World
Cup,
the
former
midfielder,
who
is
now
working
as
an
Assistant
Coach
with
the
Spain
national
team,
recalled
playing
in
the
final
against
a
strong
Dutch
team
in
front
of
30,000
fans.

“There
were
around
30,000
people
watching
us
play
in
the
Final
against
the
host
country
(Netherlands).
I
remember
perfectly
the
moment
of
the
National
Anthem.
The
entire
stadium
was
covered
in
Orange
colour
and
there
were
only
some
red
shirts
in
the
corner.”

“But,
it’s
11
against
11.
There
is
nothing
else.
When
you
play
in
international
tournaments,
you
know
this
feeling,
and
you
have
to
do
the
same
work
whether
the
crowd
is
against
you
or
supporting
you,”
he
added.

At
the
1996
Olympic
Games
also,
Spain
lost
to
the
Netherlands
in
the
Final
to
settle
for
second
place.
Speaking
about
Spain’s
rivalry
with
the
Netherlands,
the
Spaniard
stated,
“They
are
one
of
the
best
teams
I
ever
played
against.
I
still
remember
all
the
names.
We
lost
on
almost
all
the
occasions
we
have
played
against
them.
Just
before
the
World
Cup,
we
played
some
friendly
matches
and
we
lost
6-1,
6-0
to
them.
We
had
chances
in
the
Final
at
the
Atlanta
Olympics,
we
started
scoring,
in
the
world
cup
we
also
had
our
chances,
but
it
was
too
much
for
us.”

Regarded
as
one
of
the
best
midfielders
of
his
time,
Escarre
had
a
long
and
storied
career
for
Spain,
racking
up
as
many
as
256
appearances.
He
featured
in
the
Sydney
2000
Olympics
and
led
the
team
to
a
fourth-placed
finish
at
the
Athens
2004
Olympics.
Under
his
Captaincy,
Spain
won
the
2004
Champions
Trophy
held
in
Lahore,
Pakistan.
He
was
also
part
of
the
team
that
won
the
EuroHockey
Championships
in
2005.

When
asked
about
his
illustrative
career,
he
said,
“I
started
playing
with
the
senior
team
at
my
club
in
Alicante
when
I
was
13.
When
you
are
playing
with
a
senior
team,
you
need
to
learn
to
pass
the
ball
as
fast
as
possible.
I
feel
like
I
was
lucky
that
in
my
career
I
had
to
learn
everything,
and
all
these
things
helped
me
become
a
versatile
player.
Forward
or
midfield,
both
are
the
same
for
me.”

He
added,
“But,
now
it
has
changed,
players
are
more
specialists.
It
is
very
difficult
to
find
a
midfielder
playing
forward
or
a
forward
playing
in
midfield.”

Anything
is
possible
at
World
Cup:
Escarre

Escarre,
who
recently
toured
Bhubaneswar
with
Spain
Men’s
Team
for
the
FIH
Hockey
Pro
League
2022/23
matches
against
India
and
New
Zealand,
said
that
“anything
is
possible
at
the
World
Cup.”

The
16
teams
competing
in
the
FIH
Odisha
Hockey
Men’s
World
Cup
2023
Bhubaneswar-Rourkela
in
January
are
Australia,
Belgium,
Netherlands,
India,
Argentina,
Germany,
New
Zealand,
England,
France,
Korea,
Malaysia,
Spain,
South
Africa,
Japan,
Chile,
and
Wales.

“If
you
see
the
world
rankings-
Belgium,
Australia
and
you
will
always
find
a
very
good
German
team.
Of
course,
India
also,
I
think
they
have
a
chance.
And,
the
Netherlands
and
Spain
as
well.
But,
you
never
know,
anything
is
possible
in
this
kind
of
tournament,”
he
said.

Escarre
further
opened
up
on
Spain’s
chances
of
making
it
to
the
knockout
round
of
the
tournament.

“We
will
have
the
first
match
with
India,
and
then
Wales
and
England.
Then,
you
have
to
cross
with
another
group,
and
with
two
good
matches,
you
are
in
the
semi-Final.
During
my
time,
the
system
was
very
difficult,
you
have
to
be
on
the
top
of
six
teams
and
straight
to
Semi-Final
or
from
there
play
5-8
placing.
We
will
see,
we
are
working
to
give
our
best
and
we
will
try
to
win
it,”
the
Assistant
Coach
concluded.

Source:
Hockey
India