Cornelis BRAASEM

Cor Braasem was captain of the Dutch water polo team in the post war years. After a fifth place at the 1947 Europeans, the Dutch squad won a bronze at the London Games. A top shooter, Braasem led his team to victory in the 1950 European Championships in Vienna. This made the Dutch team favourites for a medal in Helsinki, but the Dutch were denied entry due to a strange decision. After beating Yugoslavia 3-2 in the qualifying round, the Yugoslavians filed a protest against the referee, claiming he had been too much in their own favour. To the dismay of Braasem, the FINA officials ruled a re-play, which Yugoslavia won 2-1. The following year, Braasem quit playing to become coach of CN Barcelona and the Spanish team. He returned to the Netherlands to coach the Dutch national team from 1959 to 1962, before settling in Spain.