They made history last July in Mazury, Poland after winning the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship.
Being the fist Dutch team to claim such title, they truly deserve the recognition as The Netherlands’ Team Of The Year!
Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen – who last summer caused a sensation by winning gold at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship in Stare Jablonki, Poland – were awarded as the Dutch “Team of the Year” in a special gala co-hosted by NOS | NOC*NSF in the Netherlands. They eventually edged the competition brought by the men’s speed skating team as well as by their colleagues from rowing.
Brouwer and Meeuwsen turned into the second European pair – after Germany’s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann had done so in 2009 – to win gold at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship. They beat Brazil’s Ricardo Santos and Alvaro Filho in the final match that rounded out a memorable campaign. Brouwer and Meeuwsen will be trying to retain their title in 2015 as the next edition of the World Championship will take place in their home country.
As they addressed the audience, Brouwer and Meeuwsen thanked their coach Gijs Ronnes who has been at their side for the last four years: “You have been with us for four years and without your help we would not have been able to achieve this amazing result” they said from the stage.
Click here to see a video from the gala broadcast on NOS
We’d also like to share these press releases from the FIVB after becoming World Champions.
Dutch Duo Make History To Claim World Gold
Stare Jablonki, Poland, July7, 2013 – Unheralded pair Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen became the first Dutch team to win a World Championships medal when they beat Ricardo Santos and Alvaro Filho to claim gold in the final of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Mazury 2013 on Sunday.
The Dutch players had already gone further than they had ever done before in a senior tournament, and then capped their remarkable run with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) victory.
“It is the best feeling ever,” Brouwer said. “I still can’t believe it; I’m shaking and that last point didn’t go as I would have liked it, but if you score it anyway, it is a great feeling.
“It really is amazing to play our hero Ricardo, who is a great player. What a great feeling, it is a dream come true.”
Brouwer and Meeuwsen started strongly and didn’t let their illustrious opponents settle. In the second set both teams took points off one another until a well-timed timeout allowed the Dutch pair to refocus and from then on they were fully in control. They had their first match point at 20-14 and while the Brazilians saved two, they were unable to stop the third.
Before arriving at Mazury 2013 their best result had been a ninth place finish at this year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Grand Slam tournaments in Shanghai, Corrientes, The Hague and Rome, but they shrugged off any nerves in a mature performance that belied their inexperience.
“I just can’t figure this out, unbelievable,” Meeuwsen said. “It is going to take a few weeks before it sinks in. I never believed, not until we scored the last point of the final.”
Despite the loss Ricardo has now become the most decorated player in World Championships history with one gold medal, two silvers and a bronze. For Alvaro it is another World Championships silver medal, to go with the two he won at U21 level, in his first season playing with 38-year-old Ricardo.
It is their second medal of the season after they won bronze at the Shanghai Grand Slam, though the pair were disappointed that they couldn’t succeed compatriots Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti as world champions, but are confident they have bright future as a team.
“We came back after we lost in the pool,” Alvaro said. “I’m very happy, it’s my first season with Ricardo and sometimes he talks too much, but I am learning and it has been amazing.”
Click here to see a video from the gala broadcast on NOS
Brouwer: Anything Can Happen When You Are In A Flow
Stare Jablonki, Poland, July 7, 2013 – “Anything can happen when you are in a flow”, Alexander Brouwer from the Netherlands said about their sudden success at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Mazury 2013.
Brouwer (23) and Robert Meeuwsen (25) beat Brazil’s Ricardo Santos and his new partner Alvaro Filho 2-0 (21-18 21-16) in the final.
It was a big step from a career’s best 5th place at the Fuzhou Open only this year. “In sports they sometimes talk about flow, being in a flow. I think this tournament is a perfect example, after the pool play, of playing in a flow. With ultimate focus and with all the energy we had.”
The Dutch men, who teamed up in 2011, obtained the A-status in the Netherlands along the way, which means they get financial support from the Dutch Olympic federation.
“Our goal for this tournament was to reach the quarterfinals”, Brouwer said. “A big step for us because by reaching the quarterfinals we would reach the A-status. But it turned out to be only the first step.”
“Our coach had to remind us after every match to reset our goals, because we were so happy after every match that it almost felt like we already won this tournament. I think this is a good example of staying focussed and not thinking about the results but only thinking about how to play your own game.”
It was a great honour for them to play against Brazil’s former world and Olympic champion Ricardo in the final. “He is a living legend”, Meeuwsen said. “And still playing after reaching everything already. He is still a great player and he always will be.”