Valentin Verga (born 7 October 1989) is an Argentine-born Dutch field hockey player who plays as a midfielder or forward for Almere.[1]

Valentin Verga
Verga in 2015
Personal information
Born (1989-10-07) 7 October 1989 (age 35)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Playing position Midfielder / Forward
Club information
Current club Amsterdam
Youth career
0000–2000 GEBA
2000–2007 Almere
Senior career
Years Team
2007–2024 Amsterdam
2017Terengganu
2019UniKL
2024–present Almere
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2020 Netherlands 193 (35)
Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing the  Netherlands
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Team
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2014 The Hague
Silver medal – second place 2018 Bhubaneswar
Bronze medal – third place 2010 New Delhi
EuroHockey Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 London
Gold medal – first place 2017 Amstelveen
Silver medal – second place 2011 Mönchengladbach
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Boom
Champions Trophy
Silver medal – second place 2012 Melbourne
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Mönchengladbach
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Auckland
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Breda

Club career

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Verga has played his whole senior career for Amsterdam. In the Dutch winter break in 2017, he was the first Dutch player to play in the Malaysia Hockey League, he played for Terengganu.[2] In the winter of 2019, he returned to Malaysia, this time he played for UniKL.[3] After 17 years in Amsterdam he returned to Almere in 2024 where he played until he was 18 years old.[4]

International career

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At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the national team in the men's tournament, winning a silver medal.[5][6] He was also part of the Netherlands 2016 Summer Olympic team.[6] His father Alejandro was also an Olympic hockey player, but for Argentina.[6] In 2018, Verga played in his third World Cup, where they won the silver medal. Due to his decision to play in the 2019 Malaysia Hockey League, he was not selected for the 2019 FIH Pro League.[3] After the 2019 European Championships he returned in the national team for the FIH Olympic Qualifier against Pakistan.[7] In February 2020 he was dropped from the national team's training squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Valentin Verga - Hockey.nl". hockey.nl (in Dutch). Hockey.nl. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Valentin Verga speelt in Malaysia Hockey League (MHL)". hockey.nl (in Dutch). 10 January 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Caldas: Verga en Kemperman naar Maleisië, geen Pro League". hockey.nl (in Dutch). 8 January 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Oud-international keert terug bij Almeerse Hockey Club, 'Ik kan niet wachten'". omroepflevoland.nl (in Dutch). Almere: Omroep Flevoland. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Men's Hockey: Netherlands". London2012.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Valentin Verga Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  7. ^ Collewijn, Sander (26 October 2019). "Hockeyer Valentin Verga keert na verbanning terug in Oranje". parool.nl (in Dutch). Het Parool. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Max Caldas laat ervaren Valentin Verga buiten olympische selectie". ad.nl (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
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