Seven teams participating in the world bandy championship arrived in Irkutsk on February 29
Seven national teams arrived in Irkutsk the day before the start of the world bandy championship on February 29.
The plane with the national teams of Latvia, Somalia and the Czech Republic landed at the airport half an hour earlier than planned. The head coach of the Somali team, 23-year-old Magnus Moore, admitted that his team was a little tired on the long road to the capital of the Baikal region, but some still managed to sleep on the plane. Despite the fact that the Swedish Africans are in their native group B, there are not enough stars from the sky, after the 2014 world Cup, Irkutsk fans love them.
Head coach of the Somali national team Magnus Moore:
– Now we have a lot of guys from the previous squad in our team, and they are very happy to return to Irkutsk and play here. We hope that the fans will support us as well – said Magnus Muir.
Not so long ago, the head coach of the Latvian national team, a well-known Russian hockey fans midfielder, multiple world and Russian champion, Ivan Maximov was laconic:
– We flew well and plan to perform successfully at the world Cup. We consider the national teams of the Netherlands and Hungary to be our main competitors.
The Czech national team has participated in the world bandy Championships three times. In 2016, 2017, 2019. The team's head coach will arrive in Irkutsk on March 1. According to the Manager of the national team of Czech Republic Alesha Weathervanes, hockey players hope to show good result at the tournament in Irkutsk.
The next morning flight to the capital of the Baikal region arrived the national team of Slovakia.
One of the youngest participants of the world Cup in group B, Michal Knopp is the goalkeeper of the national team. In December he was 16 years old. Michal plays ice hockey and has been defending the colors of one of the Swedish clubs for five months. The goalkeeper speaks good Russian, for which a special thank you to his flatmate and teammate-a Ukrainian hockey player. Michal Knopp was offered to play in the Slovak national team by his agent. And now the guy is already in Irkutsk for his first world championship in bandy. Michal considers the Czech national team to be the main competitors, and the confrontation between the teams of these countries is a fundamental Derby.
Head coach of the Slovak national team Konstantin Pryakhin:
– We have a fairly young team, the average age is 23-25 years. There are guys who have already participated in the world Championships, there are those who will play in such a tournament for the first time. In the first two days, it will be quite difficult for us because of acclimatization, but there is still a serious time difference with Europe. The goal at the world Cup is to perform as well as possible and reach the semifinals. I think all the teams in group B are about equal in strength. Everyone has a chance to play well.
At noon, teams from the Netherlands, Ukraine and Switzerland arrived from Moscow to Irkutsk.
The Ukrainian national bandy team, despite its short history, managed to distinguish itself at the international level: in 2016, at the world championship in Ulyanovsk, the team won bronze. The yellow-Blues achieved this success under the guidance of their Swedish mentor Magnus palm, who has been working with them for the past few years. He also came to Irkutsk as the head coach of the Ukrainian squad.
– There is no point in guessing what place we will take at the anniversary world Cup, especially on the day of arrival, when the tournament has not yet started. Given that the competition will be held in open stadiums, the weather conditions and the quality of the ice will be of great importance. Of course, our team has its own strengths, which we will try to use to achieve the highest possible result.
President of the Ukrainian bandy Federation Sergey Babenko noted that this year we managed to assemble a good team.
– Although we did not have the opportunity to conduct targeted training camps before the world Cup,all the hockey players are charged with fighting and are ambitious. In 2014, we already played in Irkutsk, however, then our team was, we can say, a little damp. Over the past years, the Ukrainian team has grown in skill and won a bronze medal at the world championship. And now we expect to compete for a place on the podium.
The Swiss national bandy team took part in the first European championship in 2013, followed by a long decade of hiatus. In 2006, the Swiss bendy Federation joined FIBA last year, 2019, the team made its world Cup debut. Then in group B, the Swiss took the penultimate place, defeating the Somalis.
Head coach of the Swiss national team Pierre Rus:
– The road to Irkutsk was quite tedious. I hope that we will have an ice training session before the start of the championship. We will try to win matches.
The Netherlands national team is an experienced fighter of the world ice hockey Championships. In 2018, the athletes competed in the strongest group A, but were unable to stay in it. Head coach Thomas Engstrom admits that now his team is under psychological pressure to return to group B, and they really need to win.
– We have moved from group A to group B, but we are ready to return to the top. The team trained a lot before the world Cup and is now in good shape. We hope to play in the final. The main competitors, judging by the last world Cup, can be the national teams of Hungary and Japan – these are two good teams. But over the past year, other teams could have grown significantly – said Thomas Engstrom.
Time will tell how the fate of the ten teams that came to Irkutsk for the world Cup will develop. And you won't have to wait very long. The world bandy championship starts on March 1, and the final match will take place on March 6.
Photo by Tatyana Glyuk
Press center of the V girls world championship U-17
