A Finnish player told about Russians drinking – in Russia they got mad

Having a long career Janne Laakkonen told last week in an interview with Iltalehti about his experiences at the second highest league level in Russia.

Laakkonen, 41, revealed that he could not take days off in Russia when he played in the VHL for Juzhni Ural Orsk in the 2014-2015 season.

– You can’t really have free time in Russia, because for Russian players it means vodka and big.

Laakkonen said that the previous evening might have been so humid that the club had to assign the players to a morning meeting for the next day in order to keep the drinking under control.

Laakkonen, who played in no less than 11 different hockey countries in his career, said that the players also liked to drink beer.

– The coaches had exactly the same problems. It was seen a few times when the head coach was in the doctor’s room on a drip. The previous night had gone so long that I had to get rid of the hangover through a drip in order to get on the ice.

Laakkonen’s speeches were also noted in Russia.

Served as the Finn’s head coach in Juzhni Ural Orsk Andrei Kirdyashov told the Russian to the Sport24 website that he remembers Laakkonen well.

However, he was moved by Laakkonen’s words.

– What is he talking about? What kind of drinking can there be in a club where there is no big budget? In Orski, everything was based on discipline. Laakkonen enjoyed himself in our team, always smiled, and no one forced him to drink. This sounds like a joke.

– I am shocked by his stories and imaginings.

Kirdyašov continued that the players and coaches worked day and night. He also reiterated that such a small club did not have a lot of money, which is why they had to be disciplined.

Otherwise, according to him, there will be no results.

– Maybe it’s about politics. In the West, there is a lot of pressure towards hockey players who have played in Russia. He told how bad things were in Russia, but in any case, his words are very disrespectful.