Peter Blangé

Peter Blangé was part of a group of Dutch players in the “Bankras” system of 1987, in which the Dutch top volleyball players were separated from the Dutch league to win gold at the Barcelona Olympics. The idea proved a success, and Italian top clubs attracted some of the players, including Blangé, who was getting fed-up with the system. He nevertheless joined the Dutch for the 1992 Olympics, where they upset the Italians and Cubans to reach the final before being outplayed by Brazil. Blangé sided with the Dutch team through more lost finals, including the 1994 World Championships and the 1995 Europeans, losing to Italy at both occasions. The rivals met again in the Olympic final, with the Dutch winning after a five-set thriller. Blangé then captained the Dutch to the 1997 European title, and competed in his fourth Olympics in Sydney, where he played his 500th match for the Dutch team, a record. Then turning to coaching, he won three Dutch titles with Nesselande before being named coach of the Dutch team in 2006. He tried to qualify his team for the Beijing Olympics, but did not succeed.