Saturday 5th June 2021
DEB team in front of the World Cup sensation
The mysterious Finn and his German miracle
By Tobias Nordmann & Markus Bauck
Germany is facing a historic ice hockey moment: at the World Cup in Latvia, the first medal beckons in 68 years. The opponent in the semi-finals is Finland. We spoke to the DEB legend Marcel Goc about the fairy tale of Riga.
How much euphoria there is in Toni Söderholm is one of the great secrets of this Ice Hockey World Championship. Should he feel a similar passion, a similar euphoria as his boys from the German national team, then the national coach can hide it very well. The Finn would be a real sensation at the poker table. Well, he is like that too. Even without euphoric announcements, which would be permissible according to the fairy tale that his DEB team is writing about Riga these days. Because what Germany has achieved so far is sensational. Even if it’s not a sensation. Before the semifinals in the evening, at 5.15 p.m., it will be up against his home country, says Söderholm: “There are chapters to the story we are writing. That is the general will.” If you didn’t know what’s going on in Riga, you would probably accept it that way.
But now it’s about medals in Riga. For the first medal at the World Cup in 68 years. Or to put it a little more impressively: It’s about the first medal since 1953. The heroes of yore were named Karl Bierschel, Markus Egen or Xaver Unsinn. Today’s heroes are called Mathias Niederberger, Korbinian Holzer or Moritz Müller … “You should actually list them all. Just naming individual names is unfair,” says Marcel Goc. Because only with individuals would the team not have got where it is now. To the semifinals. Goc is a great conversation partner when it comes to talking about successes in German ice hockey. Not just because he has played a remarkable 699 games in the NHL. Not only because he was on the ice 112 times for the DEB team. No, Goc was there the last time there was a World Cup medal and also when there was a medal for the last time.
The last opportunity to win precious metal at a world championship was at home in 2010. In a dramatic semi-final, Germany lost 2-1 to Russia. The winning goal for the “Sbornaja”, who surprisingly failed to Canada in the quarter-finals in Riga, fell 110 seconds before the end of the game. Pavel Datsyuk had met. Just like Goc, who had put the DEB team in the lead after 15 minutes. The game for third place and then also lost, with 1: 3 against Sweden. What has to be different now than it was then in order to fulfill the dream of the medal? Well, Marcel Goc suggests another way of looking at the current situation. It’s very simple: just carry on as before in the tournament. And despite the dream pressure, “don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the game too”.
Pyeongchang reloaded?
Goc also knows how enjoyment feels on the ice. And the memory is far from faded, even if he ended his career last year. It was in 2018 when he won silver at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. When he missed gold by just seconds in another German ice hockey drama. Spoilers in the final were the Russians again. The fairy tale of 2018 is still one of the most impressive in DEB history. Even if there were no stars from the NHL at the tournament. About their unity as a team, about their spirit, the team had played itself into a total hype. A hype that Goc has now identified with the current generation from afar. “The guys give me the convincing impression that the team spirit is there 100 percent. How they block the shots, take the checks. This is how ice hockey works!”
And then they play well too. Against Switzerland, especially in the last third. They played patiently, creatively and always with pressure to score. Goalie Leonardo Genoni permanently under fire. With success. Youngster Leon Gawanke hit the puck with conviction in the last minute to equalize. Every story is told through the overtime that follows. As well as about the penalty shootout with the sensational goal by Marcel Noebels (if you have any questions, please click here). Incidentally, the quarter-final hero played with a hemorrhage in his shoulder. Any questions about team spirit? To the will, to the passion?
So now it’s against Finland. For the second time in this tournament. In the preliminary round there was a narrow 1: 2 defeat. Goc finds a defeat from which the German team should draw a lot. “The boys saw that they were up against Finland, a top nation in ice hockey. That gives a good feeling.” To be on a similar level to the defending champion, who by the way, just like Germany, can do without its top stars from the NHL. Who also relies on young talents with a few ripped off old hands. For Goc, by the way, this is a key that the DEB team has been improving for years, that young players are becoming more and more interesting for the top division from North America. “We have done a lot right in the past few years.” It wasn’t always the case that the coaches had to turn down even strong players when selecting the squad.
And the DEB did one more thing right. To succeed the successful and popular Marco Sturm on Toni Söderholm as national coach. Incidentally, he lost his poker face for a tiny moment after the drama against Switzerland when he said: “It’s a privilege to see a team come together like this. That’s the reason why I started as a coach. That you can contribute a part, that they sacrifice everything, that they come out of a game as the winner, that makes me happy. ” It’s what they supposedly call “Intohimo” in Finland. Passion.
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