He didn’t break the curse. Josef Jandač remains the head coach, who did not win any big trophy at the elite level. In this year’s final of the hockey extra league, he lost to Třinec 2: 4 in matches.
Not that Jandač, 53, was unsuccessful. As an assistant to the national team coach Vladimír Růžička, he took gold from the 2010 World Championships.
At the highest level, however, in the role of head coach, he always remained below the top. He finished third four times in the extra league, twice was silver. He lost the final with Sparta both in 2016 against Liberec and now – six years later – with Třinec. The experience of the national team and the KHL, specifically Magnitogorsk, did not help him.
While the people of Třinec roared and drank beer on the ice of Prague’s O2 arena on Thursday evening, Jandač and his home team absorbed the disappointment behind the closed cabin door.
When he finally came out in front of the press, he was disappointed, but he answered amicably. “I’ve prepared for this over the years. I believe in life balance. It’s given to you somewhere, it’s not somewhere,” he said. “Of course I’m sorry – I wanted to grab it with Sparta. But that’s life.”
Aren’t you given the title?
I don’t want to say if I have it or not. By no means do I pack anything, maybe it will meet me in other years.
You have won the first league twice, but it does not work again and again in the extra league.
I started my career in such a way that relatively soon I managed to advance to the extra league with Liberec and Budějovice. At that time, I was still very young and he wondered how it all worked out nicely. Then some medals were collected, including with Sparta. So far, I’m sorry for the finals with Liberec, where we reached an extreme number of injured players. We had problems this year as well, even though Třinec probably also played with some injured people.
Can you be specific?
Lada Sobotka had a stretched tendon in his wrist and played every match with a squirt. He practically trained with only one hand. The screws in his leg that David had operated on broke David Kaše’s. He finished with it anyway. Tomáš was injured in such a way that he no longer started. And most importantly, we were probably a little affected by the intestinal virus, which spread here before the home games. Instead of training, the players lay on drips. Some had great weight loss. It may have played a role, but we’re not making excuses. It’s part of the playoffs and of life in general. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. When the sadness subsides, we’ll say that it wasn’t really bad.
Do you perceive the season positively? You reached the finals even though a piece of the basic part didn’t work out for you at all. You almost advanced to the top four of the Champions League.
I am a maximalist. I felt that we could play something in the Champions League as well. In the quarterfinals, we lost by a goal with the later winner. I also wanted to win the Spengler Cup (Due to coronavirus, it was canceled, ed. note). Winning Spengler, the Champions League and the league would be good. Even winning the league in quotes would be beautiful, but neither of us succeeded. We are angry, disappointed. There were three trophies. If it worked out, it would be beautiful, great. These are dreams that do not usually come true.
You lost to Třinec eight times out of ten matches this season. What is its power?
I would not like to evaluate the matches in the basic part, however, Třinec has been proving its performance for a long time. The team have long together, they know how to play the playoffs. They adequately complement players in individual positions. Gernat leaves them, Marcin comes. Stránský leaves, Nestrašil comes. They are aligned accordingly. And they can defend well.
It is already certain that someone else will lead Sparta next season. There is speculation about Pavel Pater. What will you do?
I rest, I dedicate myself to my family, I take a breath and move on. But currently without hockey. I wish Sparta could break it next year. At least now she has some experience in the playoffs.
How long will you be without hockey?
I don’t know, we’ll see.
Can you last without him?
I need a little restart. I have been training in adult hockey since I was 26, practically without a break. And I’ve had a lot of hard work in recent years. I need a rest. I’ll look at it from above and pick up the wind. I have to take care of the family, take my foot off the gas and stop. Hockey limits my family. Dad has always been preferred, now he has to step back and help the children.
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