"The semifinals are a must for us": German star explains ice hockey plan at the Olympics

Created: 01/28/2022, 10:27 am

By: Gunter Klein

Jonas Müller in his 3-2 victory over Russia in the Olympic final: "I checked that off quickly, but now, before the Olympics, I'm thinking about it."

© Laci Perenyi/Imago

Jonas Müller almost became the gold goalscorer at the Winter Olympics.

The ice hockey professional explains how often he thinks about it - and why it could work in 2022.

Munich – Olympic Ice Hockey Final 2018, Germany versus the Russians.

In the 57th minute, Berlin defender Jonas Müller, then 22 years old, scored to lead 3:2, a story about to be gilded.

Things turned out differently: Russia equalized, Germany lost 3-4 in extra time, silver, still outstanding.

Four years later, Jonas Müller from the Eisbären Berlin is back on the German Olympic team.

Jonas Müller, four years ago you were about to take an immortal place in German sports history.

Do you often travel back to these minutes in your mind?

Jonas Müller:

In many interviews after PyeongChang, I was asked how I felt about the goal, and it was always played to me.

I ticked that off quickly, but now that the Olympics are approaching again, I think about how close it all was back then.

And that this year we will have a chance of making it work.

Olympia 2022: Can the German ice hockey team repeat the success story?

2018 is very present when talking about the state of German ice hockey.

Many players describe it as the birth of a new self-confidence.

Müller:

Yes, in 2018 we started to believe in ourselves.

When I think about the semi-final against the Canadians, they were players who came from better leagues than us, but we showed that we can play as a whole team.

And if I now take the last World Championships in Riga...

...where Germany reached the semi-finals and defeated eventual world champions Canada...

Müller:

... in some cases we were even better than the nations we looked up to in the past.

In Pyeongchang, a special team dynamic developed within two weeks.

What was the secret behind it?

Müller:

The secret was and is: When someone is frustrated, someone else comes and builds you up.

This creates cohesion.

And there are groundbreaking games.

Against Switzerland (qualification for the quarter-finals, ed.) we noticed: there is something going on.

And then when we met Sweden, against whom we had only lost 1-0 in the preliminary round, we said to ourselves: Why not?

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Are the 2018 players pals forever?

Shortly after the Olympics, there was a highly emotional semi-final series in the DEL between Munich and Mannheim, which together made up half of the Olympic team.

There was a bang - but never between the silver heroes, who treated each other with respect.

Müller:

Well, the famous WhatsApp group ("Mission Gold", ed.) still exists, people still write in it today. This is a huge memory for everyone. And we players were never strangers to each other, we knew each other quite well before. As far as friendship in the game against each other is concerned: If I drive a check, then I go through with it and don't take any force just because it hits someone with whom I had a great story. But if two people got at each other's hair in a fight, I wouldn't go there to hit it knowing the other guy standing there wouldn't either.

After your brilliant Olympic tournament, it was predicted that you would soon move to North America, your club in Berlin has a US owner and a short connection over there - why are you still there?

Müller:

It just wasn't enough.

If I had the chance, I would have tried it.

There's a huge selection of super players over there, you need luck too.

The season after the Olympics wasn't my best either.

In any case, I'm happy to be able to play in Berlin, my city.

Ice hockey at the Beijing Winter Olympics: groups, schedule, favorites

Olympia 2022: quarter-finals not enough for the German ice hockey team

You became champion with the polar bears in 2021.

Goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger says he feels he has found a key to further success.

They also?

Müller:

Many say that a title changes something.

That you know how to win and are therefore less nervous in the next final.

National coach Toni Söderholm has mainly called up players with championship experience.

This also increases public expectations.

Incentive or burden?

Mueller:

Incentive.

Reaching the quarter-finals was usually our goal, and if it went beyond that, you saw that as a bonus.

Getting into the quarter-finals is actually a must, and winning it is no longer a bonus, it's what we want.

You could also say: The semifinals are mandatory.

Back to South Korea: Wouldn't the Olympic victory have been too big for German ice hockey with its manageable international successes?

Müller:

Everything went well in the tournament, gold would really have been possible.

We probably wouldn't have believed it ourselves at the moment and afterwards, but we would have dealt with it emotionally.

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing have long since become a political issue.

There is disagreement in the European Union on the question of a boycott.