Max Caldas will become Spain’s men’s national coach following the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

The Argentinean will make the switch from the Netherlands whom he will lead to the Games and he brings with him a hugely extensive CV.

A former international player, Caldas played in both the 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games before moving into the coaching realm, first of all with Leiden Heren in the Netherlands.

He went on to coach HC Bloemendaal’s men, helping them to win the Euro Hockey League in 2009. As Dutch women’s coach, he was part of World Cup (2014) and Olympic (2012) gold medal winning successes as well as landing the 2011 European Championships.

He moved on to coach the Dutch men’s side and secured European titles in 2015 and 2017 and was a runner-up at the 2018 World Cup in India.

“We have opted for a very successful and prestigious coach, who will surely give us many successes,” said Santiago Deó; President of the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation.

The San Isidro-born coach, for his part, considers that “it is a real honour to be able to lead Spain”, adding that “it comes at the right time to start such an exciting project”. 

His predecessor in Spain, Freddie Soyez, will move to coach his homeland of France once the Olympics is complete.

That completes a perfect circle of coaching moves with current France coach Jeroen Delmee already co-opted by the Netherlands for the coming years.