He is already a hockey legend today. Vladimír Růžička achieved great success as a player and coach. Most of them were also Petr Vichnar (69), an unforgettable hockey commentator for Czech Television.
Photo: Dan Materna / Daniel Materna / Profimedia
This is how Vladimír Růžička used to prepare his hockey stick.
“The rose is one of the big themes of my professional life. I was lucky enough to be a journalist and also a big fan during many rare moments of this famous player and later coach. Allow me to choose five of them that stick in my memory the most,” he says about the coach of Slovan Bratislava.
We’re guessing that at least one is related to the 1985 home world championship…
And the first one. It is Růžičkov’s winning goal against the Soviets into an empty net. He remained forever deep in my memory. The WC in Prague was the first of more than twenty for which I was accredited. As a journalist student, I commented on the meeting between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union in the final phase of the championship.
The four best teams from the basic group advanced to it and it was played again from scratch. Two days before, Makarov, Fetisov, Krutov et al. they lost 1:5.
It was expected to be another debacle.
But this time it was a completely different match. Already in the 7th minute, Hrdina launched an attack, passing to the left to the then only 22-year-old Růžiček. He fired from a very sharp angle. To everyone’s surprise, there was no one in the goal. Goalkeeper Myškin got out of it, tripped while backing up and fell – but how to say it politely… On his ass (laughs).
Photo: ČTK / Zaorálková Jana
Petr Vichnar Former CT commentator Petr Vichnar.
How did Růžička comment on this goal?
He told me that when he looked up, he didn’t want to believe that he had hit the goal. He was happy. As it turned out later, it was also the winning goal. Then the unforgettable “Ceco” Dušan Pašek added the second. The Soviets only reduced the score to 1:2.
The victory over an almost invincible team gave us wings, and after further triumphs over the USA and Canada, Czechoslovakia won the gold medals. After nine years. A wonderful memory.
Are any of them connected to Trenčín, where Růžička left an indelible mark?
Final 1988/89 Tesla Pardubice – Dukla Trenčín. Among the personalities of that time – and there really were – two stood out in particular. Young Dominik Hašek in the Pardubice goal and Růžička in Trenčín’s jersey, who “turned off” his military uniform under Matúš Čák’s castle. He himself admits to this day that he had a life form back then.
But she didn’t help him to the title in the end…
However, he was the Canadian scoring winner and the league’s top scorer – in the playoffs, he scored fifteen goals and assisted eight in eleven games. But in the final, the scythe fell on the stone. I still remember the battles between the elite scorer and the divine goalie at that time. Hašek was more successful. Růža gave him only two goals in four duels and Tesla won the final series 3:1.
The younger generation remembers him mainly from Nagano 1998…
He was less than 35 years old and was thinking about retirement as a player. However, the sight of the Olympic representative spot and the eminent interest of coach Ivan Hlinka forced him to work hard in preparation. In the end, he was part of the biggest success of Czech hockey in history. And he wasn’t just in numbers – he scored three goals and was a true captain. His speech in the booth after the first period of the quarter-final against the USA is still talked about today.
Photo: ČTK / Třeštík Jan
Vladimír Růžička Czech captain Vladimír Růžička after returning from Nagano to the Czech Republic.
What was going on there?
At first, it was a timid performance, but thanks to Hašek, we only lost 0:1. Ružička gave a motivational speech during the break. Even after many years, Hašek reminded me:
“Everyone was silent for a long time. He didn’t say anything world-shattering either, just something along the lines of: Hergot, let’s start playing hockey, we’ll pass, we’ll keep it. We’re not crazy and nothing worse than them. Dominik claims to this day that they wanted to hear something at that moment. And Růza said that, and everything suddenly changed.
He didn’t really say anything world-shattering…
(smile) It is known that he did not like interviews with journalists. Above all, he did not feel comfortable in front of the camera – unlike another famous Lithuanian bard, Hlinka. I did several interviews with him. The most memorable one took place in front of the Slavia booth in Eden, when he was shining in the league in the Slavia jersey.
What did you ask him?
For example, what does he think about teammate Viktor Ujčík. And the answer? “Come on”… This was followed by a sharp turn to the noisy cabin and a raised voice: “Damn, what you’re yelling here, it’s like the Highlands, dude! So one more time…!” (laughs) Fortunately, it was not a live broadcast. However, it is true that the mentioned moment made it into our New Year’s Eve “Goals – points – seconds” and is still circulating on the Internet today.
Read more Jágr, a player with heart. He was a factory for goals and joy. Will there be any coaching memories?
Of course. Interview after the final of the 2005 championship. He was already much more cultured. After the 2:0 triumph over Canada, Vláďa – already as the coach of the world champions – came to the studio in the city hall in Vienna. Calm, composed, he spoke about the fact that leading this team was not difficult.
He was also happy for his teammates from Nagano, who “experienced another golden party” in Austria, as colleague Robert Záruba aptly said in the broadcast.
Yes, this is where Vladimír Růžička’s circle closed. After all his achievements as a player, he proved that he is also a great coach and motivator. Finally, he confirmed it at the WC 2010 and several other seasons at the club level as well. For all that, I will always have great respect for him.
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2023-10-21 06:00:00
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