In the past few days, many well-known Slovak personalities chose to christen and taste the novelty called Wimmer Schnitzel. Its author is the well-known producer Štefan Wimmer. Hockey legend Jozef Golonka was not missing from the company. The Slovak nicknamed Žiletka became one of the world’s best hockey players of his time. From eight participations in the world championships, he took home three silvers and three bronzes, from the Olympics bronze from Innsbruck 1964 and silver from Grenoble 1968.
For revealed that paradoxically, he does not go to hockey. What is his reason? “Well, quite simply. Because… I’m not allowed to talk about money, but should I buy a ticket from my pension? That I will come there and have to stand in line like a beggar to be allowed into the stadium that I rebuilt three timesI carried bricks, concrete, iron with my own hands… for two months every year so that we could finish building that stadium. First, second, third. And today I’m supposed to beg to be let in there, so I don’t have to pay the entrance fee? I wasn’t at a single match. I had the sixth of January…” launched Golonka sharply.
He wasn’t on them for one reason. “Well, because they didn’t give me a season ticket. And I’m supposed to buy a ticket? What are they crazy about? Well, you come there and they won’t let you in. Without a ticket. For the winter. But that’s not all. It still goes on. Because, because it’s a fact that we, who built this stadium and who built Slovak hockey, were proud to be… I called all the players together. In 1959, we returned and built a great Slav. All those who had Czech wives returned. We built a great Slav. And you come there and now you’re standing in front of the door like a beggar that they’ll give you some… Even, even at one time, I don’t even know if that picture was there somewhere in that Hall of Fame. You… That’s, that’s the biggest insult when I come,” he didn’t take napkins.
Interest is expected to come from abroad. “And over the telemost, over Christmas, last year, they called me from Garmisch on the occasion of the club’s centenary. And there were 10,000 spectators, during Christmas they do such a show at the winter stadium, and I greeted my fans, with whom I won the title of champion of Germany with the juniors, for which I received an honorable mention of the city, another honorable mention and so on. And here? You are the enemy here. When you’re successful, you’re the enemy. It’s not about me sitting there. I sat with such quantities,” says Golonka.
The legendary hockey player started at eight World Cups and three Olympic Games. He wore the shirt of the Czechoslovak national team in 134 duels, in which he beat the opposing goalkeepers 82 times. In the interview, he mentioned the occasions when he was invited to he met the British queen, the American president or the Swedish king.
He received many accolades and today, according to him, no one cares. “Golonka scored 82 goals at the World Cup. He didn’t score a single one. I have two Olympic medals, seven World Championship medals, five Hall of Fames. What else do they want? Here we are making a legend out of a boy who is 18 years old and has not scored a single goal. Here, people who haven’t scored a goal in their entire lives are telling the TV how we should play hockey.” says the surprised former hockey player.
“You know, that’s good, but it doesn’t just concern me, it concerns others. There are other teammates. Who was the first captain of the Slovak national team, who was chosen by the Czechs as captain? Golonka. Golonka, yes? You have to realize that. The Czechs elected me as captain, not ours. Because I would wait 200 years for that. My people kicked me out of the national team, because I made a hard speech to a few players that they will go home when it’s dinner and not when I have to chase them in pubs. So they fired me. I will show you the documents that I have recorded thanks to her (wife), that we have all the clippings from the newspapers and there I will prove to you that they are not fabrications,” he recalls what he experienced.
He played for Slovan for 14 years, but he failed to reach the title in the Czechoslovak league. “So I’m bitter? Not bitter. I’m a fan of Slovak players. Young ones. We have all the prerequisites. Excellent boys. Parents support it. But I won’t be offended.” insists on his own.
How does he feel about watching the matches? We have the Olympics and the World Cup behind us. “Who will play there? I’m asking. Because when I saw that game… that today the Hungarians are playing in some group and we’re bragging that we’re in eighth place? And we’re bragging that we were fourth at the Olympics, but did they forget to say that if one goal is scored, we’re eighth? It was the first time I saw a team celebrate when they lost not by three goals, but by two,” he stated flatly.
“It was after that game when it was decided whether we would be fourth or… Come on, where did we end up? You have to face reality. You don’t need to haggle with your sons here – he’ll be there, he’ll be there, we’ll put him there, that kind of manager. We called the manager here for a power play. Please, take the statistics and see how many goals we scored at the World Cup from power-plays,” he says harshly.
He also recalled his own experiences. “And here was a Canadian coach, a specialist in power plays. We played with Lac Horský, who was an associate professor at the university, who was the best coach I had in my life as an adult. And he taught us the power play and the beginning – in three minutes Brno was 4-0 and they went home with ten. And that after only one learned action. And they will bring him to teach us, and we will not score just one goal in the entire championship. What are we talking about, please? But they won’t give you space on TV, they don’t want a discussion. Even those who have worked with me are afraid of it. Because I’ll tell them straight,” concluded Golonka.
