Ondřej Pavelec | Photo: Jakub Knap
After voluntary training, goalkeeper coach Ondřej Pavelec arrived among the journalists and, as usual, he was in good spirits. He himself knows what it’s like to catch at the home World Cup, the arena with the home fans can put the players under pressure, but according to him, this is an advantage for the team. “When you have a full hall, people practically don’t let you get away with anything,” he says. He also talked about his role in goalkeeper scouting and the situation of Karel Vejmelka in the position of three.
Ondřej, what is the situation regarding the goalkeepers after yesterday’s match – how did you evaluate Petr Mrázek’s performance?
Good, we have five points from two games. It was obviously a completely different match than the first one, but thankfully it went well. No one thought the match would be easy. We played back-to-back – for one goalkeeper to catch it… Not that it would be suicide, but it would be a big and unnecessary risk. So we split it up like this and it worked out well.
You yourself have a lot of experience – how do you work with the goalkeeper’s head when almost no shots fly at him, but he concedes three goals?
Heavy. I experienced such a match in 2010, when we lost with Norway, it was exactly the same picture. We didn’t win then because we couldn’t score the equalizer. So it was 3:2, we scored two goals, but their goalkeeper “stood on his head” and we played with them the whole time and exactly – they scored three times, scored three goals and it was game over. It is played at home, people will help you concentrate, but for Mráza (Petra Mrázek, editor’s note) it was a very tough match, so from that point of view, I was glad he did it.
“I experienced such a match in 2010, when we lost with Norway, it was exactly the same picture.”
How will it continue to look like with the deployment of goalkeepers?
We don’t want to say it in advance, the teams here have their people for scouting. Why help them unnecessarily? The matches follow each other quickly and you will always find out on the day of the match. The day before is unnecessary for the reasons I said. Goalkeeper coaches have studied all goalkeepers.
Is Karel Vejmelka expected to start in the group?
I don’t know if it is ideal to rotate three goalkeepers like this. We’ll see, anything can happen, we’ve seen it in previous tournaments. Everyone has their role and there are not enough matches to have all three goalkeepers in the team.
On Sunday, the representative doctor described the health condition of Dominik Kubalík ???⚕️
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Is this a new experience for you? In the Twenty20, thanks to the shorter basic group, you could load all the matches on one goalkeeper.
It’s back-to-back twice, and as you said, there are more games. It’s easier in the twenties if the goalkeeper is doing well. If there are any problems, it’s even worse – you don’t have time for the substitute to somehow get into it, he’s thrown into the water and has to deal with it.
You talked about scouting goalkeepers, what is your role in this regard?
If there is something there, I try to advise the shooters – where it could go, or what the goalkeeper does, what he is strong at. Notably raids, but that’s a separate chapter. Video coach Jakub Zelenka helps me a lot there, that’s mostly his job, all I have to do is choose something and submit it at the right time. It’s a team effort.
“It’s such a mix of preparation, experience and also how the goalkeeper takes it.”
So the win over Finland goes to you and Jakub Zelenka?
(Laughs) It’s such a mix of preparation, experience and also how the goalkeeper accepts it, because of course he catches it. I won’t catch it from the substitute, the goalkeeper has the most credit.
You yourself caught in Prague at the home world championship. Is it more mentally demanding for a goalkeeper than a championship abroad?
As always – when things are going well, it’s good, but there are also worse moments. On the other hand, from my experience, a full house turns you around with such excitement rather than nervousness. That’s how it affected me, I looked forward to every match and such an experience. There is no weak opponent, but people just expect that if you go with Norway, you will pass them. That when you play Great Britain, you run them over. That’s great, but in reality it’s not like that and you have to work it out and act it out.
The experienced pair of Reto Berra – Leonardo Genoni in the goal area of Switzerland. Can anything else be found on them?
Well, nobody’s perfect, but like I said, it’s a team effort. It’s about the shooter, the goalkeeper, the player who screens, everything together. They are experienced goalkeepers who have a lot behind them.
“If there was a Czech who would tell them what we know?”
So you won’t reveal your weaknesses?
No, so what if there was a Czech who would tell them what we know? (smiles)
If by chance it doesn’t go well – is it your responsibility to change the goalkeepers, or do you consult with colleagues in the coaching staff?
Again, it’s a team effort. As Radim said (Rulík, editor’s note), he bears the greatest responsibility for it. Of course we’ll talk about it, but he has to make that decision. That’s how it works for us so far.
You said it’s important for goalkeepers to be comfortable. How is it going so far and what role does Karel Vejmelka play in it as a trio?
Karel plays a big role in it, as do the other two boys. The tournament is not only about matches, but also about training, spending time together, about the cabin. In my experience, if you don’t have that third keeper in shape and he doesn’t take it to the right end, it can affect the goalkeepers in front of him. In this case, from my point of view, there is no danger, they get along great and it will continue like that.
Home WC? For Třinec support and a completely new mode 9️⃣5️⃣??♂️?
Published by Hokej.cz News on Sunday, May 12, 2024
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2024-05-12 18:10:00
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