Grzegorz Michalewski, Polsat Sport: Congratulations on winning the silver medal at the World Championships. For the German national team, this is the first podium in a tournament of this rank after a 70-year break.
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Wojciech Stachowiak: Obviously, this is a great achievement for German hockey. We didn’t know we could go this far, but surely each of us wanted to. That silver medal hurts a little, because you know it was so close, but it didn’t work out. After a few days, however, that pride comes after what we achieved, because it was the first medal for the German national team after seventy years, so that’s a big achievement for sure.
The start of the tournament did not promise such a happy ending, as the first three games against Sweden, Finland and the United States were lost by one goal. The break was in the game against Denmark, and besides, your other group rivals were a little weaker, because you also played against Austria, Hungary and France. Moreover, this confrontation with the Danes was full of suspense until the end.
We played the first three games against strong teams, like last year’s world champion and two top teams. We knew it wouldn’t be an easy match, but even though we didn’t score any points, we had a good chance and played against strong teams at the same level. We were also proud of that, which gave us the belief that we can do more in this tournament. During the meeting with Denmark, we knew it would be a draw and we would fight with them for that fourth place, which is rewarded with promotion. We all did our best to win and we succeeded. It was a very “tough” match, because we were leading, then there was a draw and finally a goal in the last minutes. It was really a very important meeting and I am very happy that we managed to do it. It helped us get where we came from.
In the quarter-finals, you met the Swiss, who performed well in the group stage. You won 3-1 and got the assist for the decisive goal scored by Nico Sturm. Is this result a surprise given the style with which the Helvetians completed the group stage.
I wouldn’t say this game was a surprise. We had such confidence that we would be able to win it. Not once in our team was there any question or possibility of us losing this game. I think that confidence and determination helped us win. I also think that Switzerland is for the German national team, I would not say an easy opponent, but a good competitor in terms of the style of play. Fortunately, we managed to win this game, it was probably our best performance in this tournament and I’m really happy about it.
The semi-final was a hockey spectacle. The Americans led 2-0 after four minutes, but you managed to equalize in the first half. In the end, you won the match 4-3 after extra time, thanks to the goal scored by Marcel Noebels in the eighth minute of added time. The United States was predicted by many to win the World Cup.
We didn’t start the game well. To be honest, in the first 10 minutes of the game, our opponents overpowered us, but luckily we managed to come back and fight our way into this game. Before this semi-final game, we had already played two games against the Americans. First in a friendly, then in the group stage of the World Cup. We knew we could beat them. Their coach also said that we were the toughest opponent for them in this group stage and that also gave us some confidence. Of course, it only came out in extra time, but we fought until the end, and we scored the equalizer a minute or two from the end. We have never lacked that faith. In additional time, this “solo” directed by Frederik Tiffels happens once every seventy years, as you can see, and I must confess that I have never been happier in my life than this goal. It was definitely a match not to be missed.
The last game with Canada was a 2-2 draw after two periods, although you took the lead twice. In the last set, the rivals gave you three goals and won the gold medal. How do you assess your chances in this final confrontation?
The start of the match was very balanced, and we even led for a long time. We were sure we could win this game. Then it was 2-2 and the third goal scored by the Canadians was due to our mistake, which happens in hockey. Then we conceded the fourth goal, when we had the puck and we could have scored. Unfortunately, the puck jumped over the stick and it went against. Unfortunately, it happens, and you’re not always lucky. Either way, luck is a big part of hockey and this time the Canadians had more of it. We didn’t manage to win this match, but for us these silver medals are a great achievement and for sure with this performance we won the respect of these top Elite teams.
Your achievements in the Tampere and Riga tournaments are two goals and four assists. Which of these matches was the best for you?
The game against Switzerland was for me the best of the tournament. It was my first World Cup and my opening game against Sweden didn’t go well. There was some nervousness, but then it calmed down. For sure, this game with the Swiss national team was such a special game for me, I felt good on the ice, I gave it my all and it was my best game in this championship.
I mentioned the unpromising start to your performance at this tournament. Then it was only better. What was the greatest strength and the main assets that led you to the grand finale.
I think the biggest asset was how we stayed together. No matter what happened on the ice, whether the game was won or lost, we knew what the end goal was. No one yelled at each other, we all helped each other and the team stuck together like a family. I think in team sports, that’s a very big part of a team’s success. It was definitely one of our strengths. All of us on the team believed it could work and fought for every inch of ice. It allowed us to win a few more games and get to where we came from.
In 2018, the German national team won a sensational silver medal at the PyeongChang Olympics. The German team was played by Mathias Plachta, son of Jacek – a former Polish representative and coach of our team, who has Polish roots. In the current German team that won silver at the world championships, there were two players of Polish origin: you and Maksymilian Szuber, born in Opole.
We know each other with Mathias and Maks, so we have three players, and maybe more, with Polish roots, but in the end there is the German team. And each of us was proud to play for the national team. In PyeongChang, it was a great success. Anyway, the Olympic Games medal is certainly more important than the medal won at the World Championships. And it is certainly a very great achievement. I was proud of the way that team was playing back then and was able to achieve such success.
You were born in Gdańsk and started your hockey adventure in the local shipyard. How did you end up in Germany and with the team there? In Poland, you played in Stoczniowiec and Niedźwiadki Gdynia and the Bombers Malbork team, because you took your first steps in hockey in these teams.
Yes, I started at the shipyard and at the sports school in Gdańsk. I’m still friends with some of my classmates to this day. It was my debut and then at the age of eleven I had the chance to go to Weisswasser in Germany and I am very grateful. I went to Germany once with Patryk Wysocki, with whom I played in Stoczniowiec, then Dominik Olszewski came and spent a few good years with them. I’m glad I made that decision because it contributed to what kind of person and player I am now.
I know that ice hockey was not a random sport, because your father – also Wojciech – played at the amateur level, but successfully in the Mad Dogs Sopot team. And anyway, as a young boy, you even trained with your father in the “Mad Dogs” team…
My beginnings in hockey may come as a surprise, but I started out as a figure skater and that’s probably not very common in this sport. I often went to training with my father, and I watched them from the box or the stands, and I really liked this sport. Later, with other guys, we started dancing on concrete, on these small goals, and I fell in love with this sport. Finally, my dad took me to hockey school on Saturdays and Sundays and I haven’t stopped thinking about the sport ever since. It was a weird start for sure, but it’s gotten me to this point now, and I wouldn’t change that in my life.
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