Harry van Doom has a lot on his plate. In addition to being a successful Dutch businessman, he is also one of the most influential people within the country’s martial arts scene.

Van Doom, one of the most affable people you will meet within the M-1 Challenge, manages the World Team alongside the team’s head coach, former European amateur wrestling standout Bert Kops.

With his team earning its first victory of the 2009 season this past Friday in Kansas City, van Doom was in good spirits when he recently took time to speak with www.M-1Global.com contributing writer Fabrice Deters.

Fabrice Deters: Harry, congratulations with your first team victory against team Turkey. How do you feel beating the Turks by an impressive 4-1 margin?

Harry van Doom: I’m very proud of my team and trainer Bert Kops. Everybody tried hard and it was nice to end the night with a 4-1 against Turkey.

Fabrice Deters: The start of the season did not go well for the World Team. Your team lost to the number one team in this year’s challenge, Russia Legion. How did you cope with that loss and what did you change within your team?

Harry van Doom: I have to start by saying that the 4-1 loss isn’t as devasting as many would like to think. The first match was close and we could have won. The other bad loss was with Nathan Schouten. He was unlucky that he hit his head on the canvas and therefore he was out cold. I truly believe that this was more bad luck then it was because his opponent was much better.

So if those two fights went different we could have won with 3-2. For the fight against Turkey I changed two fighters, the -76 kilo fighter Diego Gonzales came for his debut and the second change was forced because the commission didn’t allow my new protégé to fight. The commission only relays on stats they can find and ruled my fighter as inexperienced. I’m happy that Ryan Sturdy won but I bet that my guy would have won also.

Fabrice Deters: The group standing now shows there is a very small chance of the World Team getting to the semi-finals. However, Russia must lose against Turkey. But the most important thing is that your team finishes no worse than in second place so that it can return for next year’s challenge. Do you anticipate any changes for your next fight?

Harry van Doom: Yes, it’s a shame. We had to fight the best country in our first encounter but we will try our best to win anyway. We must finish in second place to make sure our team will be in the 2010 M-1 Challenge so the fight against Germany is very important for us. I think we can win. I also have a little surprise for the Germans but I can’t say anything yet. But watch me — it would be a shocker.

Fabrice Deters: A lot of people are confused about the meaning of a World Team, as the M-1 Challenge is a country vs. country concept and Team World obviously isn’t a country. Can you explain why there is such a team?

Harry van Doom: The reason for the World Team was because there are a lot of fighters we know that have the level to compete in the challenge but some of them are not in a country with enough depth to support a full roster. So the World Team is a team that consists of many international fighters that aren’t citizens of a country capable of making the challenge. For example, if a fighter is very strong but lives in India, he now can apply for the World Team.

Fabrice Deters: Which fighter of the World Team do you consider the most talented and which fighter is the team captain of the World Team?

Harry van Doom: I have to say Michael Kita. He’s very strong and won both fights impressively. I think he’s even the number one ranked fighter in www.M-1Global.com’s (T)KO standings. Because of his great performance and confidence he’s the team captain for sure.

Fabrice Deters: The welterweight fighter Diego Gonzales showed some great skill in his match against Turkey. Can you tell me something about him?

Harry van Doom: He’s from Sweden originally but lives in the U.S. He’s a very big guy for the -76 kilo division and has excellent BJJ skills. He can take punch but certainly can give a punch as well. Mark my words he will defeat his German opponent.

Fabrice Deters: Your role is team manager. What kind of things are you responsible for?

Harry van Doom: Before the events I make sure my team is complete. I do the matchmaking for my team. At the event itself I make sure my fighters have everything they need, from drinks to gloves. I also am responsible for all financial matters related to the team and I’m the spokesman for the team if there are any things going on that is M-1 related.

Fabrice Deters: Beside team manager and businessman you are tightly involved in M-1 Global. You recently went to Serbia to take a look at a MMA event. Can you tell me why you went there and what else you do for M-1 Global?

Harry van Doom: Beside managing the World Team, I’m very involved with M-1 Global. There are a lot of requests coming in from different countries that would like to represent their team for the M-1 Challenge. In order to evaluate the level of talent within a country, I go there to take a look and talk to the promoter. Then I make a decision if we want to work with them. Last year I went to Bulgaria and Brazil and this year they represent the M-1 Challenge with their teams and we even held events in their country. So this year I went to Serbia to take a look there. We’re launching M-1 Selection tournaments to determine which teams will qualify for next year’s M-1 Challenge and there is a big chance that Serbia will fight a qualification match.