January 26th, 2009
The atmosphere in Ostrava was even better
Czech center Martin Ostransky talked to worldfloorballnews.com about the world championship in his home country, about the aims he wants to reach with his club Alligator Malans and about the future of floorball. Hard to believe for all the floorball fans who only had seen the final days in Prague. But Martin Ostransky says: ‘The atmosphere in Ostrava was even better’.
wfn: The matches of the Czech team at world championship in Prague and Ostrava were followed by huge crowds. Tell us about your feelings you had during this time.
Martin Ostransky: Playing in front of so many fans was an unbelievable experience. Prague was good, but Ostrava was even better. Against Sweden the CEZ Arena was almost sold out. Everybody made noise, all the Czech fans supported us. The fans in Ostrava are unbelievable.
wfn: Were you satisfied with the fourth position?
Martin Ostransky: No. Our goal was to get a medal. But it was our own fault. We didn’t take our chances. Only two minutes before the end of the third period we received 4-4. But that’s just the way sport is. The Czech team’s performance was good and so was the organisation of the event. The world championship in Czech Republic was good promotion for our sport. The only thing we can’t be satisfied with is the lack of a medal.
wfn: Tell us about the echo in the media.
Martin Ostransky: This was unbelievable, too. It media coverage was exactly the same as during icehockey world championship. The flying camera in O2-Areana was something completely new for us. All the matches of my team were broadcasted on Czech TV.
wfn: Now you play in sports halls in front of a 300 or 400 spectators. Is it difficult to handle that?
Martin Ostransky: That’s just the way it is. In Czech Republic even fewer people come to see the matches of the regular season. But as soon as the play offs start, the games are followed by large crowds. I used to play for Pepino Ostrava. When we played the final against Tatran Stresovice four times between 2002 an 2005 the atmosphere was a doozie! 3000 fans wanted to see one of the finals in Ostrava.
wfn: What did you set yourself as a target for this season with your club UHC Alligator Malans?
Martin Ostransky: First we want to reach the play offs. If we are in good shape we can defeat every team. Everything is possible.
wfn: How long does the world have to wait for a Czech world champion title?
Martin Ostransky: It’s difficult to guess. Five years ago Sweden and Finland were not within reach for us. The top four nations are now very close to each other. Some strong players in Czech Republic have resigned or will resign from the national team. We will have to rebuild a new team. But I’m optimistic because we have very talented young players in my country.
wfn: Today four countries are dominating the floorball world: Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Czech Republic. Which nations could become strong opponents in the future?
Martin Ostransky: Latvia and especially Norway could become strong opponents in the future. The only question about Norway is how they rebuild their team. Some players will soon be too old to play on this high level. Will there be good youngsters to replace them?
wfn: What do you think about teams from other continents?
Martin Ostransky: At the moment federations from other continents don’t have large numbers of licensed players. That’s why they can’t keep up with most of the European teams at the moment. It needs time. Floorball must become better known first.
wfn: How many years does it take until floorball will be an Olympic sport?
Martin Ostransky: I think we have gone half way now. I hope it might be possible to have an Olympic floorball tournament in eight years.
