The hockey players addressed the public after arriving from Beijing. Here are the words of Coach and Mira Satan | TVNOVINY.sk – TVNOVINY.sk

Bronze medal celebrations were waiting for our representatives together with the fans.

The bronze medalists from the Olympic hockey tournament in Beijing returned home to Slovakia on Tuesday, where they were greeted with a grand welcome. They received applause after their arrival at Vienna’s Schwechat Airport, where they were greeted in the arrival hall by the first fans and autograph hunters. Subsequently, the bus with the players went to Bratislava, where they first had media responsibilities and then they had to go on a tour of the convertible bus around the city. The celebrations were to culminate in a program on the stage at SNP Square.

Slovakia is looking forward to a medal success at a big hockey event for the first time since the 2012 World Cup in Helsinki, where the representatives won silver. “I’m looking forward to it all. It’s been ten years since we last celebrated in the square, “recalled Miroslav Šatan, general manager of the national team and president of the Slovak Ice Hockey Association (SZĽH), who experienced silver success as a player 10 years ago.

“I believe that the players will enjoy the celebrations, because except for Libor Hudáček, they will all experience them for the first time. I am glad that after ten years we have made a great hockey success and that people are looking forward to it again. Even though they have different problems in their lives, at the moment they can forget about it and enjoy hockey. “

Source: TASR Archive

Satan was the only one in all five medal successes of the Slovak Republic so far. During his playing career as a captain, the Slovak team led to historical gold at the 2002 World Championships in Gothenburg, he also has two silver medals in the collection (2000, 2012) and a bronze medal from the World Championships (2003). He is enjoying the position of an official from the historically first Slovak medal at the Olympic Games, the head of the SZĽH and GM national team came to Beijing only during the Olympic tournament, and his arrival also gave the team a boost.

“We officials did not receive a medal, but it is a great success of Slovak hockey and I am glad that I was able to be there and in what position. I’m very happy about that, “he said at a press conference on Tuesday.” There were a lot of skeptics who didn’t trust the choice of coach and the philosophy we chose. We played good matches. The bronze medal is a satisfaction for all of us. I believe that the skeptics will now believe in our work and that the coaches will learn a similar way of working in clubs. If club methodologies copy something from the national team, it will help the whole Slovak hockey team. “

There is a special interest in the meetings with the players, SZĽH officially responded to the media information that the national team avoided a meeting with the highest political representatives. “We appreciate the invitations of the highest constitutional officials, but due to time-organizational reasons, we could not accommodate them today. Therefore, we invited them to a joint lunch with the players after their arrival in Bratislava. The players have had an intercontinental flight for several hours, celebrations with fans are a priority for us, and therefore receptions on the grounds of constitutional officials were not currently possible. Representatives of the SZĽH management are happy to accept their invitation in the coming days, “mediated the union opinion Ľuboš Schwarzbacher, PR manager of the SZĽH.

On the way to the historic bronze at the Olympic Games, the Slovak representatives managed to defeat several strong teams. In the quarterfinals, they eliminated the USA (3: 2 after the raids), in the fight for third place they defeated the Swedes 4: 0. According to coach Craig Ramsay, it was an important moment when, after the first two losses in the group with Finland (2: 6) and Sweden (1: 4), the head of the Šatan team arrived in Beijing, together with video analyst Igor Andrejkovič. Their arrival seemed to kick the team and it bounced back to victory.

Source: TASR Archive

“When Miro and Igor came, everything changed. Since then, everything went as it should. Even though we lost the first two matches, I believed we were good enough to win. We fired an average of 40 shots per game and we played well, it was only a matter of time before it turned around. In the third period of the fight for third place, we performed the best hockey I have ever experienced. In the end, we defeated the Swedes and won bronze. I am very proud of this team and this country, “said Ramsay.

Right after the end of Saturday’s match, long celebrations followed, and they gradually moved from the locker room to the hotel. “First of all, I have to say that the duel with Sweden ended very late. We were sitting in the room and I just asked what time it was. They told me that half past four in the morning. I said I had to go to bed. They ruined my suit and shirt, they poured something on it, but that’s okay, because being part of these celebrations was something very special for me. “

According to Juraj Slafkovský, he must be careful that the fame does not rise to his head after the 2022 Olympic Games. At the Olympic hockey tournament, he became the most productive player and the best scorer, won the award for the most useful player and significantly helped the Slovak national team to gain historical bronze.

Source: TASR Archive

“It’s important to stay grounded, my parents, older players and everyone who wants to help me in my career have reminded me of this,” said the 17-year-old striker at a press conference in Bratislava after coming from the Beijing Games. with his shooting piece he imitated the success of the then 19-year-old Miroslav Šatan from the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, the captain of the bronze team Marek Hrivík also confirmed: “Slafkovský has a lot in front of him that he would not stay down. “
Slafkovský called the opening goal of the bronze medal match against the Swedes (4: 0) as his most important accurate hit in the tournament: “The most important thing for me is probably the goal that I said was from the buffet. so I will remember him the most. “

At the February Olympic Games, the Slovak national team became only the second country to fight its way from an Olympic qualification to a precious metal. Previously, only the silver Germans succeeded at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyongyang. Hopes for historic success began to dawn after a dramatic 3: 2 quarter-final win over the United States after separate raids. The author of four points (2 + 2) Peter Cehlárik described this match as the most important duel in the tournament: “The most emotional moment for me was Marek’s equalizing goal in the quarterfinals against the USA. Advancing to the semifinals was the most significant step we took in the tournament. “