Riedl Praises Fans’ Unwavering Support | [Team Name]

The day before yesterday | Michal Kobylik

A faithful pupil of the Aries, born in Zlín. He tried out the position at the head of the cabin in the 2021/2022 season, when he was the captain of the Zlín junior team. It was also the self-sacrificing full-back’s most productive season, earning him his top-flight debut with the then extra-league Rams. He is now plying the hard ice of the MAXA league with them, and since autumn he has been assistant to captain Petr HOLÍK. How does the twenty-three-year-old defender Vojtěch RIEDL feel now and what does he say about the current state of the season?

How did the interviewed Zlín defender evaluate the last game of the Rams? “It was definitely an important win for us, and the way we managed to grab it motivates us for the next rounds. It was actually quite strange that we managed to score five goals, we haven’t really been able to do that lately,” Riedl said at the beginning of the interview. Zlín erased a two-goal deficit against Slavia in Eden and during the shootout at the end of the third period turned the score to 5:3 for the Rams!

Did the opponent himself also play a role in this success? Slavia Prague he is currently leading the MAXA league table with an overview, this is certainly motivating. “Yes, the leader was playing on the ice, that got us excited and with the win we proved that we can beat everyone. We need to confirm that in the match with Needle and in the following ones. I don’t see it as a miracle. We go all out in every game and we want to win. IN Litoměřice the day before we had a good footing, but we conceded one unlucky goal and the second in weakness. It could have been reshot, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for us. That Sunday in Eden was all the better.” Riedl commented on the matter. Sunday’s match in Prague completed the last hockey weekend, which the Rams completed in the regular part of the competition. Against on Saturday To Kalisniks unfortunately, it did not go well again and Zlín fell 1:3.

Riedl belongs together with this year’s newcomer from Zlín Václav Veber to the Rams’ best blockers. How does a defender fulfill this role? Is it a question of long-term training or the nature of the player? “I take it as a natural thing associated with the position of defender. I certainly don’t train for it. It’s an automatic reaction when you’re standing in front of the goal and you see an opponent who wants to shoot, I just step into his shot and he hits me. I’m helping the team, everyone has a function like that. Forwards score goals, I’m blocking shots.” said the interviewed Zlin schoolboy modestly about his statistics. In 40 games played, Riedl blocked 38 opponents’ shots, Veber blocked 33 opponents’ shooting attempts in 36 games.

During this year’s turbulent changes in the A-team, in addition to the coaching staff, the team management was also reconstructed. The captain became an icon Petr Holík and his assistants former captain Pavel Sedlacek and defender Riedl. “First of all, it was a surprise for me, I didn’t expect that they would choose me. But I’m happy for that kind of trust. However, it didn’t change anything in the cabin, for me it’s just a letter sewn on the jersey during the matches, it doesn’t make me something more, of course. Regardless, I try to say something in the cabin from time to time, to support my teammates, but of course I’ve done that before.” Riedl said of his position.

Now the Rams have a home duel with an attractive opponent – last year’s MAXA league winner Jihlavsk Dukla. What will the duel be like? “We prepare for each opponent specifically according to what style they play. Even though it’s Jihlava, I don’t take this match as something special. Last time in Jihlava, Dukla beat us, now of course we would like to achieve the same at home.” Riedl said of Saturday’s upcoming game. Dukla managed the replay of the final in September better by one goal, Zlín then punished it when it won 2:0 in the first ever match in the new Horácká Arena. The last meeting of the Rams with last year’s playoff participant took place at the beginning of December and Jihlava won 4:0.

The Rams can traditionally rely on strong support from the stands in Luďka Čajka’s home Trinity Bank Arena. The Zlín club consistently belongs to the TOP four with the highest attendance. How does the cabin perceive this important fact? “There is a big difference between playing at home and away from Zlín. The support of the fans was very important for us, especially in the last weeks, when we were at the bottom, we were losing, we were in the last place, but people still believed in us. Not every club has such loyal fans. I believe that now it will be better and we will return all the good things to our fans with wins, and not only at home, of course.” says defender and assistant captain RI OKNA Berani Zlín at the end of the interview Vojtěch Riedl.

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