CORTINA
Time to take stock at Hafro Cortina. The Ampezzo season ended with the defeat in the Alps quarter-final series against Asiago and now all that remains is to take stock of the championship just ended, starting to think about the future. At the end of his first experience as head coach of a first team, the Cortina coach, Ivo Machacka, traces a positive balance of the difficult year just faced, even if the recent defeat against Vicenza has not yet been fully digested. .
«We certainly wanted to reach the first four of the Alps, hitting the semifinals», he confirms, «after the challenge lost in three games against Asiago there is certainly everyone’s disappointment. However, our season remains positive, we had a good championship and we have achieved all the minimum goals set by the club. Too bad, because we wanted to go further and we all believed in it until the end. I have to compliment my boys anyway. A humble group, prepared and willing to work ».
Just the defeat in the Venetian derby put an end to your journey, both in Alps and a few months ago in the semifinals of the Italian championship. What’s more the Asiago del Cortina has?
«The people from Vicenza have won several titles in recent years, they have top level players, capable of managing certain decisive situations in the best possible way. Asiago certainly had more conviction than us, but also more maturity in managing the physiological difficult periods that occur during matches. In them I see a lot of awareness in their means, they know that they can score and win at any moment ».
You and the Vicenza coach, Petri Mattila, are good friends, did you feel at the end of the series?
«We studied the various challenges together. Asiago has always played well; they were very organized and had studied us in detail, canceling us in the neutral zone. We both tactically analyzed the opponent very well and in fact the balance on the ice was a lot. This pre-match study was seen in the powerplay, where we almost always canceled ourselves ».
If you were to retrace the past season, what aspect would you highlight?
«We have grown constantly, especially in 2021. Unfortunately in December we did a lot of wrong, losing many points along the way. From the calculations I made, without losing those games at the end of 2020 we would have finished in the top three. It was a goal within our reach, a shame also for the return 2-play phase which penalized us a bit in the standings. Anyway, statistics in hand, we won at least once against all our opponents and nevertheless some important absences that inevitably conditioned us a lot ».
Young people and powerplay: maybe these are the two areas where the team has improved the most?
«I am very happy with the young people. They have done very well and have grown a lot this season. Unfortunately they had never faced the playoffs and it was not easy to manage them, but those races were a great step to gain experience. I am also satisfied with the powerplay, we scored 4 or 5 goals more than the Val Pusteria in numerical superiority and it is no small thing. If we then look at the individual statistics, we placed 3 players in the top 10 for points scored and De Filippo also stood out among the goalkeepers ».
Will we see coach Machacka on the Cortina bench again next season?
“The company offered me a two-year contract last year, but I refused; it was fair to see how this season was going first. However, the possibility exists for next year “, says the coach,” we will sit around a table in a few weeks and see what will be best for both of us. Currently, to be honest, I haven’t thought about what to do yet. I am someone who likes to always win, and I still have to dispose of my anger over the defeat against Asiago. I really believed in the semifinals. In a few days I will be more serene and will be able to think about the future calmly ».
Beyond everything, how did you find yourself working in Cortina?
“Very well, and it was not taken for granted. I feel part of a big family that has welcomed me very well. I really have to thank everyone, from the club, to the players and the sponsors who supported us in such a difficult year ». –
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