Slovak fans were after in the quarter-final match in ecstasy. Our hockey players won over Germany 6:2. The tournament ended for the Germans after a crushing loss. The atmosphere in Milan was captured by the Markíza TV crew. A long-time editor addressed the audience in a live introduction Michal Hečko. An excited crowd of Slovaks was already moving behind him, and one man took care of an unexpected moment.
He put a hat on Heček’s head and he reacted immediately. “The Slovak national hockey team reached the semi-finals today. In the fight for medals. Hats off to them, which I have just finished. It was a fantastic match. Slovakia literally burst into the semi-finals. Almost no one expected such a match,” said the editor without hesitation. You can find the video at the end of the article.
Markizák pointed out that the difference of 6:2 is really excellent. “We smashed them badly,” the broadcast was interrupted by another Slovak fan who spoke up in the live broadcast. “We smashed them terribly, that’s how our fans can see it. And we look forward to it together with them.” added Hečko at the end of his entry.
We want to come home with some metal
The Slovaks will appear among the four best teams of the Olympic tournament for the second time in a row, having won bronze medals four years ago. The Slovak hockey representatives will start the semi-final match of the 2026 Olympic Games against the USA on Friday from 21:10.
Coach Vladimír Országh believes that his players can win at least one of the two games that await them in Milan. “It’s a fantastic feeling and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. They stand by each other from the first day of training, fight for each other and live their dream. We live it together. We are in selected company and I am glad that we managed to follow up on the last Olympic Games and that we can defend the bronze medals,” he said.
“There weren’t many optimists in Slovakia and we got this far. But of course we go with humility. We’re uniting Slovakia again, we have hockey fever again and we’re happy that we’re doing well. But it’s not over yet. We have a chance to play for medals, we have at least two matches ahead of us, and when we are already this far, we would definitely like to return home with some metal.” Országh said.
However, the success of Országh is not only due to the coaching skills, but also to the ritual that he revealed. “MI still have the same shirt. Because we lost in the last match (Sat Sweden, note ed.)it was such a lose through smile, I kept it because we moved on. But I changed the shirt under it. It worked. So I have something to wear again for the next match,” revealed to journalists.
