Canadian hockey is like German soccer
The Canadians are in today's world of hockey what the Germans are in soccer: a team that is weaker than its coaches and
icials think, but also a team that you should never underestimate.
Let me explain. Once, the Germans were the measure of all things in soccer. But they lost their power at exactly the same moment as Canada lost control over international hockey. Germany won the World Championship for the last time in 1990.
This tournament is comparable with the Canada Cup, the World Cup and (since 1998) the Olympics. Team Canada won the Canada Cup for the last time in 1991. Since then, they have lost their number one status.
They could not win the 1996 World Cup or the 1998 Nagano Olympics (I am not counting the World Championships in this instance).
The parallels are frighteningly accurate in other respects. As the soccer world became more and more international, more and more non-German players got important positions on the club teams and the effectiveness of the national team strongly diminished.
The world of ice hockey became more international after the end of the former Soviet Union and the number of NHL players without a Canadian passport more than doubled. Now, the Canadiens have not been able to win international tournaments when every country has their best players.
However, the self-confidence of the Germans in soccer and the Canadians in hockey is still as high as it was in the time of glory.
But the technical and tactical skills, the capacity to invent new game systems and the creative game have gotten lost. We see power instead of intelligence, a tank-like approach instead of elegance.
In Germany, soccer is a national sport, almost a religion. So is hockey in Canada.
The reaction in both countries to the decline is the same: endless discussion about the development programs, innumerable TV talk show debates and finally, in many cases, the search for a solution in the past. This is typical for leaders in a self-centered world.
Germany called Lothar Matthäus again for the national team and failed.
Canada is putting all its hopes once again on the shoulders of Mario Lemieux, who was the best player in the world 15 years ago.
But some hope also emerges out of this comparison for Team Canada.
The Germans are famous for their fighting spirit. Never underestimate a German team in soccer! With uncanny will, power and much, much good fortune they can still beat more highly skilled teams.
Team Canada had something like that German good fortune in their game versus the Czech Republic. They scored a goal, but no one on this planet saw the puck behind the line. A phantom goal that counts: is that not a good omen for the quarter-finals versus Finland?
There is one more reason for hope. Franz Beckenbauer, the best German soccer player of all time, is not involved in the national team program any more. But he talks like he knows everything better in interviews, talk shows and so on.
But Canada's best player of all time, Wayne Gretzky, is prepared to take responsibility and take the heat. He is the GM for Team Canada in this tournament.
Klaus Zaugg
IIHF.com guest columnist
Вход
Регистрация
FAQ
Поиск
Велосепедисты 
