Peteri Nummelins | Photo: Guntis Lazdāns/LHF
In a conversation with the Finnish media “Iltalehti”, the assistant to the head coach of the Latvian hockey team, Peteri Nummelins, told about the bronze medal celebrations, and also revealed his future plans for the national team.
The Latvian national team celebrated the victory in the world championship match for bronze medals in Tampere on Sunday, beating the USA with 4:3 in extra time. Because of this historic success, a holiday was declared yesterday in the country, within the framework of which the Latvian national team was welcomed at the Freedom Monument. It has already been announced that at least 30 thousand fans took part in the event.
The Finnish specialist was also excited about it. “People were shouting, singing, the whole area around the monument was crowded. Even the bus ride from the airport to the city was great. There were many fans on the sides of the road, the cars driving towards them stopped. It was really cool,” said Nummelin, also recalling the experience at the 1995 celebration, when he won the world championship as a player. “There were a lot of people in Helsinki that time too, it was a cloudy day. Feelings as a player and a coach are different, so I don’t want to compare them. But these are both wonderful experiences.”
After the celebrations at the Freedom Monument, the Latvian national team was invited to visit the country’s president, Egils Levits. “We all shook hands with the president and he gave a speech. I didn’t understand much of it. We also received a medal. Today we need to ask more precisely what the medal is for. It must be some medal of honor. But yes, yesterday was pretty crazy,” Nummelin said with a laugh.
As the Finnish coach revealed, the whole team then went to “Arena Riga” to leave all the equipment. Then something curious happened. “We all thanked each other and went home. I expected that we would go to dinner together or some other joint event, so that the whole team together with the staff could meet once more. It didn’t happen,” said Nummelin.
The 50-year-old specialist worked this season in the Swiss National League (NL) club “Ajoie”, but he was recruited to the national team in November. He will also work in Switzerland next season, but he has not yet discussed his future in the Latvian national team with the management. “Of [Latvijas izlasi] not yet spoken. That’s what coaching is – if you’re involved in something, something’s always going on. I would like to stay in the Latvian national team, the time spent here was very pleasant,” the assistant head coach revealed.
Abols: At 2:3 against the USA, everyone on the bench said – we believe, we believe, we believe!
The Latvian hockey team was awarded with medals of the President of the State
The Latvian national team has arrived in Riga, tens of thousands are waiting for the team at the Freedom Monument
2023-05-30 19:02:37
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