Final push: Coach Puig feels that emotions will play a crucial role when Spain takes on Germany in the final.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
Almost every second child in Terrassa, situated in the autonomous region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain, plays hockey in school with utmost passion. It is that popular.
Terrassa is home to nearly 10 hockey clubs, the most prominent being Club Egara, Atlètic Terrassa, and CD Terrassa Hockey.
Speaking on the sport’s deep-rooted popularity, Spain’s head coach, Oriol Puig Torras, during the ongoing FIH Junior Men’s hockey World Cup, said: “Terrassa is 20 minutes by car from Barcelona. When you walk on the streets in Terrassa, you can see children with a stick in their hand inside the bus. And almost always it’s hockey.”
Despite a hockey culture that spans more than a century, Spain has struggled to convert this popularity into global success. Puig attributed the lack of consistency to Spain’s hockey ecosystem which remains constrained by finances.
“It’s difficult because in our country, the budget for hockey is limited, as it is not a fully professional sport. It’s not a hobby either, but it’s more than a hobby. I’d call it semi-professional because players don’t earn a salary playing the sport. Maybe two or three players earn,” he said.
Puig also pointed to structural challenges. Unlike European rivals, Spain lacks regular, high-intensity competition.
“Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands play each other all year, almost every month. The distances are quite short. But for us to go to Belgium for one weekend, iis too expensive,” he explained.
Spain is known for their possession-based hockey built on short, slick passing and technical excellence rather than physicality. Looking ahead to the summit clash against Germany in the junior men’s World Cup at the SDAT–Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Sunday, Puig — in his second World Cup stint as head coach — admitted that it was a challenge.
“It’s 60–40 in favour of Germany. Moreover, we have 15 Catalans in our team, who are not very tall or physical in their game. Germany, of course, is more physical than us. I think it all boils down to the emotions. We are looking forward to play in our maiden final,” he said.
Published – December 10, 2025 02:20 am IST
