THE GLORY DAYS may be over for the much-vaunted Russian hockey team who again failed to live up to Olympic Games expectations with their coach admitting he’s ready to be “eaten”.
Finland’s 3-1 victory in the quarter-finals today has become the second-straight Olympic nightmare for Russian hockey.
Four years ago in Vancouver they were crushed by the Canadians 7-3 and this time around the enormous expectations of winning gold on home ice proved to be too much.
Russian coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov knows the reaction from the Russian media and fans to another Olympic embarrassment will be swift and scathing.
“Well, eat me now. You’ll eat me and I’ll be gone,” said Bilyaletdinov. “But I will keep living.”
Russia have not claimed a hockey gold medal since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. That team won the Olympic title in 1992 in Albertville when they played as the Community of Independent States (CIS).
Their second straight quarter-final exit from the Winter Games once again raises questions about the team’s cohesion and ability to play together rather than individual stars.
“The problem was that we wanted to win the game by one person, not by a team,” said defenceman Anton Belov. “We didn’t make passes. That’s the result we got.”
Finnish star Teemu Selanne said the Russians were a beaten bunch and he could see it in their eyes late in the game.
“They were feeling the pressure,” said Selanne, who is the all-time leading scorer in the Winter Olympics. “They had more to lose than us. They were getting frustrated.
“That is tough to see. Believe me I have been in that position too. To be honest I am little bit sad for them.
“They had a big dream to win the gold medal and then it doesn’t work,” said the 43-year-old Selanne.
- ‘They had more to lose than us’ -
Russian TV didn’t hold back in its immediate post-match hyperbole.
“Dear friends, life has not come to an end. But this is a severe and annoying defeat,” said the commentator on state television Channel One.
“We are all crying and we are crying with you too. We are hoping for revenge. Maybe one day there will be revenge. But maybe not with this team.”
