What you need to know about the Kampong-Amsterdam final

Burkhardt guarantee for goals
Boris Burkhardt has emerged as a veritable goal-scoring machine in Amsterdam's main squad in recent years. Since the start of season 2022-2023, the 28-year-old striker accounted for 65 goals in the regular Hoofdklasse, a number surpassed in that particular period only by Rotterdam attacker Jeroen Hertzberger (83) and Kampong's Jip Janssen (82).

Burkhardt scored 28 field goals in the past three seasons and shot 33 times from penalty corners. Furthermore, he utilised penalty strokes four times.

Jip Janssen's first at Kampong
With six goals in two matches, Kampong defender Jip Janssen played an absolute leading role in the semi-final against Bloemendaal. Never before has a Kampong player been so prolific in the first two matches of the playoffs, or at all in one complete edition of the nacompetition for the title. In season 2003-2004, Xavier Reckinger was the last to score at least six goals in the semi-finals: the Belgian did so in the service of Oranje Zwart.

Janssen is still three goals away from Remco van Wijk's goal record. In the play-offs of the 1998-1999 season, he scored nine goals in five matches for Bloemendaal, an unprecedented feat.

Four final duels between them
Kampong and Amsterdam face each other in a final match for the fifth time. Three times before that happened in the play-offs of the 2017-2018 season (with Kampong the eventual winner in a best-of-three) and once in the Euro Hockey League. In the 2015-2016 season, Kampong won that European friendly in Barcelona 2-0 through goals by Quirijn Caspers and Constantijn Jonker.

Current Kampong players Lars Balk, Jip Janssen, Sander de Wijn, Boet Phijffer and David Harte were also in the side back then. The same goes for Robbert Kemperman, but he now plays for Amsterdam.

POINTS

• Amsterdam won only two of its last 15 games against Kampong (D4 L9): one on 10 April 2022 (1-0 at the Wagener, Hoofdklasse) and one during this season (2-4 in Utrecht on 26 October 2024, Hoofdklasse).
   
• Remarkably, the last meeting between Kampong and Amsterdam ended without a goal, something that happened only twice before in the 96 matches before: on 31 March 1974 and on 1 May 1988.
   
• In the last six matches between them in Utrecht, a total of 41 goals fell, good for an average of almost seven goals per match.
   
• Kampong lost its last home game against Amsterdam: 2-4 on 26 October 2024. On behalf of Amsterdam, Boris Burkhardt (two), Floris Middendorp and Sam Steins Bisschop scored. Jip Janssen and Mats Gruter struck goals on behalf of the home team.
   
• Kampong can become national champions for the tenth time in history. Only Bloemendaal (22) and Amsterdam (21) won more national championships.
   
• In twenty seasons with play-offs, Amsterdam reached the final for the fourteenth time, which it won six times: in 1995, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2011 and 2012.
   
• Jip Janssen is on 32 goals in all leagues for Kampong this season. It is the fourth season in a row that the Utrechters' penalty corner giant has scored at least 32 goals. In the past three seasons, he came to 32, 36 and 39 goals.
   
• Amsterdam attacker Boris Burkhardt already accounted for 31 goals this season: he scored 27 in the regular league and added four goals in the semi-final of the playoffs against Den Bosch. He also prepared another eight goals by teammates.