Vincent Vanasch

Vincent Vanasch (born 21 December 1987) is a Belgian professional field hockey player who plays as a goalkeeper for Orée and the Belgium national team.

Vincent Vanasch

Personal information
Born	(1987-12-21) 21 December 1987 (age 36) Evere, Belgium
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Orée
Youth career
1994–2004	White Star
Senior career
Years	Team
2004–2007	White Star
2007–2009	Pingouin
2009–2010	Leuven
2010–2014	Waterloo Ducks
2014–2016	Oranje Zwart
2016–2020	Waterloo Ducks
2020–2023	Rot-Weiss Köln
2023–present	Orée
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–present	Belgium	273	(0)
Medal record Men's field hockey Representing  BEL Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Team 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team World Cup 2018 Bhubaneswar 2023 Bhubaneswar–Rourkela EuroHockey Championship 2019 Antwerp 2013 Boom 2017 Amstelveen 2021 Amstelveen 2023 Mönchengladbach Hockey World League 2014–15 Raipur Team

Club career

Vanasch has been involved in hockey from an early age; his father "Jean" created the youth school of the "Royal Evere White Star Hockey Club". He did all his classes until the first team with which he won several titles (grass and indoor). When the club got relegated to Division 1, at the end of the 2006–2007 season, he went to play at the "Royal Penguin Hockey Club Nivellois". He played for two seasons before getting a transfer to KHC Leuven. From the 2010–2011 season onwards, he started playing for the Waterloo Ducks. In 2014, he made a transfer to the Netherlands to Oranje Zwart.^[1] He played there until 2016, when he returned to the Waterloo Ducks.^[2]

In the 2018–19 Euro Hockey League, Vanasch's Waterloo Ducks became the first Belgian club to win the Euro Hockey League.^[3][4] In January 2020, it was announced he would play for Rot-Weiss Köln in Germany from the 2020–21 season onwards.^[5] After three Bundesliga titles in three years he returned to Belgium and signed a three-year contract at Orée.^[6]

International career

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Vanasch competed for the national team in the men's tournament.^[7] Vanasch won the silver medal with Belgium at the 2013 European Championship on home ground in Boom. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he was part of the Belgian team who won the silver medal.^{[citation needed]}

In 2017, Vanasch was named the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year.^[8] At the 2018 Hockey Stars Awards he was named the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year for the second time in a row.^[9] At the 2019 EuroHockey Championship, where Belgium won its first European title,^[10] he was named the goalkeeper of the tournament.^[11] In December 2019, he again was nominated for the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Award.^[12] On 11 February 2020, he was awarded his third FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Award.^[13] On 25 May 2021, he was selected in the squad for the 2021 EuroHockey Championship.^[14]

Honours

Club

Waterloo Ducks

• Euro Hockey League: 2017–18
• Belgian Hockey League: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14

Oranje Zwart

• Euro Hockey League: 2014–15
• Hoofdklasse: 2014–15, 2015–16

Rot-Weiss Köln

• Bundesliga: 2019–2021, 2021–22, 2022–23

International

Belgium

• Olympic gold medal: 2020; silver medal: 2016
• World Cup: 2018
• EuroHockey Championship: 2019
• FIH Pro League: 2020–21

References

1. van der Giessen, Arjan (26 March 2014). "Oranje Zwart legt topkeeper Vanasch vast". omroepbrabant.nl (in Dutch). Omroep Brabant. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
2. Liebrand, Anneke (1 March 2016). "OZ-keeper Vincent Vanasch keert terug naar België". ed.nl (in Dutch). Eindhovens Dagblad. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
3. "Waterloo Ducks winnen Euro Hockey League na 4-0-winst tegen Köln". hln.be (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
4. "Waterloo Ducks in EHL heaven with remarkable 4–0 grand final success in Eindhoven". ehlhockey.tv. Euro Hockey League. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
5. "Red Lions-doelman Vincent Vanasch kiest voor Duits avontuur". hln.be (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
6. "Vincent "The Wall" Vanasch keert terug naar Belgische hockeycompetitie". sporza.be (in Dutch). Sporza. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
7. "Vincent Vanasch". London2012.com. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
8. "2017 Hockey Stars Award winners announced in Berlin". International Hockey Federation. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
9. "De Goede & Van Doren named Players of the Year in 2018 FIH Hockey Stars Awards". fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
10. "Goud in eigen land! De Red Lions winnen na het WK nu ook het EK". sporza.be (in Dutch). Sporza. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
11. "Brilliant Belgium win their first ever European Championship crown". belfiuseurohockey.com. 24 August 2019.
12. "Manpreet Singh nominated for FIH Player of the Year award". The Times of India. Lausanne. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
13. "Vincent 'The Wall' Vanasch opnieuw beste hockeydoelman ter wereld". Sporza (in Dutch). 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
14. "Selectie Red Panthers en Red Lions voor het Europees Kampioenschap aangekondigd". hockey.be (in Dutch). 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.

External links

• Vincent Vanasch at the International Hockey Federation
• Vincent Vanasch at the European Hockey Federation
• Vincent Vanasch at Olympedia
• Vincent Vanasch at Team Belgium (in Dutch)