As a player, he presented himself at two Olympic Games, the third is experienced by Petr Nedvěd as an official. The former excellent striker is the general manager of the Czech national team in Beijing, and after only two days at the games venue, he is fully aware of the specifics of the current covid era. That’s why he’s looking forward to the men’s hockey tournament.
“I tell myself that when it starts, the atmosphere will be different. Now that I see people in spacesuits all around me, it’s a sad sight. But it probably won’t change until the end of the tournament. It’ll be happier when we start playing.” Nedvěd told reporters.
The first match awaits the Czech team on Wednesday, February 9, when it will play against Denmark. He will play a training match with Sweden on Sunday. “It will be a diversification. Especially for the boys from the KHL, who have been without a match for a long time. That’s why I’m glad they will be able to play against the Swedes. The boys from the extra league finished recently, like a goat scratching, “Nedvěd said.
In addition, it was not until Thursday that the national team began to fully train together. The players joined the team gradually and flew to China in parts. “I don’t want it to look like I’m crying or complaining, because all the teams have the same thing. But it’s sometimes unworthy that it’s about the Olympics. It’s a shame that the preparation for such a big sports holiday looked like when “Hobbies are missing in the summer and fourteen of them did not come. But now the trainings look at least in some way and it is a pleasure to just look at the training,” said Nedvěd.
In addition, all teams must address coronavirus issues. The Czech coaches were frightened by David Krejčí’s positive test, which should be fine in the end. The goalkeeper Šimon Hrubec, who is waiting for another negative test in Prague, has still not joined the team. So far, only another striker, Michael Špaček, who has not traveled with the team, is seriously endangered.
“We were ready for everything and I must honestly say that I expected it even worse. In the end, I would say that it is quite OK. Of course, if we do not have Simon Hrubec and yesterday we missed Krejča, then I thought we “Let’s hope that Krejč will pass the second negative test, that after training we will have a message if Simon has left,” Nedvěd wished. It will not be clear about Hrubka’s journey until Saturday.
The native of Liberec is in Beijing for a short time, but he quickly revived his Olympic memories. He started as a player in Lillehammer, where he won silver with the Canadian national team. Twenty years later, he represented the Czechia in Sochi.
“It was a sports holiday, for me for sure. It’s a pity it’s not quite here. All the measures, the pandemic… It’s not whining, but the feeling is completely different. Maybe in Lillehammer there was a completely different world. The Russians wanted to show, everything was Bolshoi and Grand. Each Olympics was different, specific, but I really enjoyed both of them. I took home a medal, the more valuable it was, “Nedvěd added.
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