“This is the hockey fans want to see”

For Claude Julien, who called for two weeks to cooperate with Ambrì employees, the second experience in Switzerland proved to be much more profitable than the previous one: “The first was last January, in Davos, for a training field with the Canadian national team in view of the Olympic Games, but it is the time The first I came to Umbro. In Davos we did a sleigh as a team building activity, somehow my sledge got out of hand and I got badly injured, but that’s the past and now I’m trying to stay sane. As we neared the end of the game with Bern, I commented that if I was in the stands “I would definitely have taken my mobile phone to photograph the atmosphere, because the crowd participation was amazing and impressive. I was told about the competition with Lugano and I can’t wait for the derby. It was fun to be on the bench and help you. Every time I trained against Switzerland it was always a pleasure.” Tough matches, because the Swiss work hard and fast, so I wasn’t surprised at the level I saw in the first few days.What I especially like is that you play offensive hockey, with a lot of watching and where you don’t cover yourself too much, as it happens in countries Others where defensive play is the priority. Here the pressure is constant, what causes fouls and scoring chances is an exciting hockey game to watch and what fans want to see in short: I love Swiss hockey.”

Arriving is Kis Rene Matt, Cereda assistant: “I met Rene probably twenty years ago at the Canada hockey symposium, we wanted to meet before Spengler, but with the tournament canceled we could only meet at the World Cup, who was an assistant for France, and we talked about the possibility of coming to And when he contacted me with the proposal, I found it an honor to be called to share my knowledge and to have been chosen to lend a helping hand, even if the staff were already in good hands, though not as many coaches are as high as in other clubs But it compensates with work and preparation and the players feel it.”

Dokka: We want to avoid routine

The good impression is mutual, as confirmed by DS Paolo Duca, «He is a very ordinary person, although he trained for twenty years in the NHL, he is courteous and respectful. He came here with body and soul, as if he had already been a part of our staff for years, and he has the mindset to give us some helpful advice. So far it has been really exciting to listen to his every intervention, whether during training, whether during matches or during breaks. He has a lot of experience and he is here to put it at the service of everyone.” And Serda himself: “For me, it is a great honor to have someone who has coached in all the major competitions in the world. At the moment I can say that he is a humble person. Against Friborg he watched the game from the stands, having arrived recently, while he was with Berne on the bench all the time.”

Julian and Cereda’s paths had already crossed in the past… “I trained against him – says the 62-year-old – when I was with folks in Hamilton, circa 2000, he was a player too good and too bad for him. His health problems But he does a good job as a coach and continues to do what he loves.”

What will your duties be at Umbro? “I am here to share my thirty years experience as a coach, twenty of them in the Nhl, I have already found a good crew here in Ambrì, which I love, as I was able to notice in these early days. Luca in the dressing room gives off good positive energy and the players respond well. I’m passing on some little things that I’ve learned over the years, the start was good and by the end of my cycle here I hope to pass on something that will allow the team to take a step forward.” Duka adds, “He’s not here to underscore the quality of our work, but because sometimes it’s good to have different inputs and to have someone who doesn’t know the reality can make suggestions about different options to do something. In general, when you are in fact, not only in sports, for a long time, you risk that you will end up in a routine, so we are training to stay current and always look for new stimuli and look at the latest news on a scientific, technological and tactical level » .

Waiting for the right offer

And what will you do once Leventine’s term is over? “I’ll go home and wait to see if I get an interesting offer in the Nhl. I’ve had opportunities already last year, but if I come back, you’ll be in the right place, we know that during the season there are many changes, but on the other hand I have a passion In doing what I’m doing now, doing advice and helping those in the environment Nothing has been decided yet on who Team Canada will train in the Spengler Cup, I should have been there last year, but unfortunately Covid stopped everything, now we’ll see what he does The Canadian Federation, which has already given me a lot of opportunities to represent the “Maple Leaf”, but there are many coaches who aspire to such a position ».

Palmarès includes Julian’s Stanley Cup, which he won in Boston in 2011 and Olympic gold, which he won in Sochi three years later, as assistant coach. What is the most famous victory? “Winning the Stanley Cup is a great thing and not a privilege for everyone, so when you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, you have to do everything to succeed. Growing up in Canada the Stanley Cup is the ultimate goal, but at the Olympics I quickly realized after winning the gold medal, how important it was. I remember the great dedication to dirty work also by the stars, which allowed us to dominate the game in most games.”