Clubs crackle on each other, it’s not hockey, it annoys Dud. In Liberec, some players killed him

After the quarter-final series of the extra-league playoffs, you claimed that you lacked even more fire and emotion. What is the semifinals in this regard?

I would still expect it livelier. A few events have happened, but not much. Švícko was seen in the series Třinec s Boleslaví (Martin Ševc) is a guarantee that something will happen. But otherwise I miss the players a bit, who are able to get under the opponent’s skin and break the game. Many of them rely on hockey skills, which is not always the case in the playoffs. You have to do other work.

Is it also because the playoffs affect quite a few disciplinary penalties this year? Do players prefer to be careful?

It is possible, Ujča (Viktor Ujčík, Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee) talks to boys a lot, often punishes him. He should deal with it more emotionally, punishing for criminal interventions. Plus, I don’t like the way the teams crack at each other. He did this, he over there. It’s not hockey anymore, it lacks its meaning.

Would you rather see players on the ice settle disputes?

Definitely. Consider that some play with injuries, with self-denial. It’s about it. They have to say it on the ice, let them sparkle there. Not somewhere at the table. If it’s not brutal interventions, I wouldn’t deal with it. You will always find a lot of axes and hidden fouls. I have a completely different meter.

In the Sparta series with Motor, Milan Gulaš’s fight against David Tomášek was solved. Do you agree that it was Gulas’ short circuit?

In this possibly clear. Milan can’t afford that, it affected the match and the whole series. Budejovice led 2: 0, they had Sparta where they wanted it. It could have been 2: 2 for the matches now, I’m convinced of that. But the hat down that the boys from Motor came together showed the character and played very well without Milan. I mainly smack in front of Dominik Hrachovina and Lukáš Pech. And until Sparta has four victories, anything can happen.

What do you say about Třinec’s speech and results? He managed both series without a single defeat and is waiting for the final opponent.

The work of coach Venci Varadi is terribly visible in Třinec. He has formed a team, he has been with it for a few years and he is successful with it. He attacks the third title in a row. In a way, steelmakers have no weakness. Good goalkeepers, defenders play perfectly, attackers think of the back door. Everyone knows their role, they have experience with the playoffs and they don’t panic. It’s an economically strong club. They play smart, compact, it’s hard to play against them. For me, they are the biggest favorite for the title.

At the age of 43, you announced the end of your playing career, not for the first time, but now definitely. Aren’t you tempted to add another season?

I love hockey, playing it and coaching it, but it would be a waste of time for me. I put it on again to help the boys in Venice, I saw that it was plunging into the abyss in the first league. I wanted to finish it. But otherwise I’m already a realist, I know my place is elsewhere. I enjoy pushing young guys in training, it makes me happy.

That is why many were surprised when you had to strengthen Vsetín before the end of the season. And in the end you got all the way to Trenčín.

Jirka Hudler, a friend of mine who was thinking about how to strengthen Vsetín, had his fingers in it. I was in favor, I wanted to help him and it’s not that hard to persuade me again. (laughter) Unfortunately, an administrative error occurred, but coach Bobo Stantien from Vsetín called Branko Radivojevič in Trenčín, who called and I could look under the skin of Slovak hockey. I’m glad for that, I often like Slovak players when scouting and I was pleasantly surprised in Trenčín.

You have played overseas, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Germany. Until this year, Slovakia has avoided you.

That’s right, I wasn’t there. I don’t even have Denmark, Norway, England, there is still enough. (smile) I was sorry that Vsetín didn’t come out. Fans and the atmosphere there, it’s a bomb. It is such an archive of the Czech Hockey Society, a specific place for playing hockey. I’m sorry for the fans and the boys on the team, but there’s nothing I can do.

After the final end of your career, you want to have more time for what you enjoy. Will you continue to work under the auspices of Liberec?

I’m already done in Liberec and I’m going my own way. I will work with my clientele, I do not want to waste time with people who do not want to train or have a different perspective on work and hockey than I do. I thank the White Tigers for learning and trying a lot of things with them, but it’s time to move on. And I must mention that I want to pay more attention to my children as well. Little Radek is starting to play hockey, I want to keep an eye on it.

And at work, do you want to control the players below you?

Definitely, I want to work with guys who want to. Working with someone who doesn’t want to is a waste of time. Sometimes I felt like the biggest persuasion in Liberec. The boys there have fantastic conditions, facilities, a farm in Venice. But few players appreciated it.

Quite a few of them are promoted to the A – team of Liberec, don’t you think?

Again, the guys who were given space in the A were working on themselves. They valued the conditions and worked out. Venice was fantastic at that, pushing the Tigers a lot of players over the years. Liberec will feel their descent into the second league, it is a huge loss. For a long time, the Tigers have not played players under the age of twenty, there was no coach who would have the courage to do so.

So it is throughout the competition, there are few exceptions.

I agree, Pilsen is exceptional. Tomáš Vlasák and Martin Straka have their eyes on it, from the point of view of their scouting, all young players want to go there. They have a vision of playing the extra league. I also think of Eduard Šalé in Brno, he is a fantastic player. I hope to be firm in Comet’s squad next season. Raising players is a very broad and complex topic, I just wish the coaches had more courage to put the boys in the lineup. Even at the cost of holding the player there artificially for a while, if he has the right work ethic. The Slovaks are now ahead of us in this regard.

Until a few years ago, you hesitated exactly what you would do in hockey after your career. You found yourself in the role of an individual coach, see?

Completely. I am grateful to Honza Ludvig for opening my eyes in Liberec. He taught me what to work on, and now I enjoy it, it makes me happy. I want to make the boys’ hockey as simple and effective as possible. Develop them, help them to be the best. Of course, I enjoy scouting.

Then it’s nice for you to see certain fruits of your work, isn’t it? You were pleased with the move of Ronald Knot to the KHL and the Olympics, the team is now the young Liberec striker Adam Klapka.

That’s great. I want to be a hockey partner for the boys, to be close to them. Klápa listened to a lot of criticism, and Ronald’s people also rolled their eyes after coming to Liberec and didn’t believe him much. But scouting is not about today or tomorrow. It is a long-term process, but if the boy has the quality of a hockey player and the work ethic of a worker, he will eventually reach for it.

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