Finnish school behind the gang
On Thursday (05/26/2022, from 3.20 p.m. in the live center) they are now both in the World Cup quarterfinals in Helsinki, in “their” city, in suits behind the gang: Söderholm as national coach of the German national ice hockey team, Jalonen as coach of the Czech team.
It will be a duel of similar Finnish systems. Because just like Jalonen, Söderholm attaches great importance to discipline. Everyone defends and already thinks about the next defensive action when attacking. Jalonen ice hockey in the Söderholm interpretation, you could say. “It could be something like a chess match,” admits Söderholm.
Good mix in the German team
But his recipe has worked well for the German ice hockey team so far. The team clinched five wins and more points than ever before in a World Cup preliminary round. The mixture of NHL legionnaires like Moritz Seider, World Cup debutants and followers like Lukas Reichel and veterans like Korbinian Holzer works in the Söderholm system.
In addition to compactness, there is another keyword for Söderholm: “We have more patience.” It will be needed against the Czech Republic. The twelve-time world champion has lost a bit of its former glory. The last title so far was twelve years ago. But in terms of running and technique, the Czechs are still at the top level.
Czech Republic with ups and downs
“Czech Republic are a strong, well-coached team,” says Söderhlom: “They work well together as a team and, as usual, are characterized by technically good players.” There were three defeats in the preliminary round, including even in the penalty shoot-out against Austria. But in the end, the quarter-final qualification was never in danger.
So now Germany, the team that was knocked out of the tournament 5-1 in the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals. But the respect is there. “They’re playing a good tournament so far,” says Jalonen: “I’ve seen their games. We’re ready.” They are ready and for both teams a lot will depend on who has the better ideas in the Finnish coaching duel.
Source: db; sid; dpa