The medal drought of Czech hockey has lasted for nine years and it has its sixth coach. Even Filip Pešán could not avert the bitter end. “I don’t take it as a loser, but it’s a failure,” he said after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Riga (from our rapporteur) – Whoever inspected the Czech team before the key match against Finland, may have raised their eyebrows incomprehensibly. The attacks were thrown again, with a few exceptions.
Further changes then came in the clan itself under an unfavorable (and then final) state of 0: 1. The Czechs did not score a goal in the tournament for the first time.
Wasn’t betrayal betrayed them? “I don’t think it’s about her. She didn’t play a big role. It’s about commitment, skating,” Pesan said.
Somewhat surprisingly, Michael Špaček, one of the most productive Czechs in Riga, remained completely out of lineup. “I stand by it, even if it sounds pointless now,” the coach began.
“We wanted to help the game in weakness, which we did not do, and on the defensive. That’s why we put Adam Musil in the position of the thirteenth striker. I decided that we couldn’t have so many offensive players again. We spent more time on the rest.”
At first, the tactics worked. The Czechs forced Finland to make mistakes in the opening minutes and reached the goal a few times. But then came the spasm. Inaccurate passes, confusion, virtually no chances… The Northerners launched a defensive machine that no one escaped.
“We were a little timid,” said Pesan. “We knew the Finns were playing an extremely sophisticated mid-range system. After an active ten minutes, their game began to blunt our offensive. We didn’t find enough courage on the reel, enough audacity in the offensive zone to surprise or talk about power play.”
The star cannons from the NHL didn’t help either. During the big turn against Sweden, Jakub Vrána kicked the team with a famous blow, but this time he was silent. Like Dominik Kubalík or Filip Chytil.
“Many of our boys from overseas played a great tournament. They decided the matches we had to win. But today we missed their goals,” regretted Pešán.
The Czechs lacked a spark from the last championship in Bratislava. This year, they resembled the machine only at critical moments in the group. “But I don’t think that the team would not be able to wake up. We played some matches very well. I cannot tell anyone that he would not play the tournament to the fullest,” said Pešán. “Of course it wasn’t ideal. If I knew how to tune the team better, I would do it.”
Critics such as former national team member Jiří Hrdina blamed the Czech coach for not living and showing emotions on the team’s substitution.
“To run and chant, I would be more of a fan than a coach,” Pešán said on Czech Television. “I’ll let people get a picture of what I look like on the bench alone. If we had the ugliest coach in the tournament, I accept it. It doesn’t affect my work.”
Disappointed Czechs after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Riga. | Photo: ČTK
It is now clear that the Czech wait for the World Championship medal will last for at least ten years.
It was supposed to be close this year. Fans were enticed by nine prizes in preparation, as well as weaker rosters of common favorites such as Canada. “It was more of a media massage,” Pesan commented on optimistic forecasts.
“Yes, we had good results, they showed a decent game. The expectations were high. But I slowed down the atmosphere and mood for the team, because it seemed that we were only going for gold. As it turned out, it was not true.”
Since Pešán also works at the hockey association as a chief coach, he was asked if he could draw anything from the tournament. “I don’t know if you’re going to run into it, if I appeal. I just finished the match. I’m disappointed,” he replied.
“I don’t take it as a loser, but it’s a failure. I wanted to play for medals. I can’t say more about that,” he added.
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