Milan Nový

“But then, when I got some renown in ice hockey, I was given the best nickname by Jiří Holeček. It fitted me perfectly. Do you know what it was? Valdez is coming. This was my favourite film with Charles Bronson. He was a sniper, shot enemies from a distance. Jiří Holeček, whom I scored my first goal when I was seventeen, realised that I was an excellent sniper. But I was the only player of the national team who had some humility. When I started playing on the team, I came up to Jiří Holeček. No one else in the national team did this. I asked him that since he knew all the goalkeepers he could give me tips on where to shoot. He was meticulous and had notes on all the players about their favourite spots in the goal. He was ready for them. He shut them out, but first he studied them. I was a rookie on the national team but I could already play some hockey. And I was not ashamed to ask him for a tip.”

“And then I received number six. This is what helps you most. I was seventeen then. Bohuš Prošel put me with these forwards. Had I been poor they would have asked for another centre forward after two matches. I started in January and we played against Košice. We won eight nil. I scored a goal and had two assists. The famous Jiří Holeček was the goalkeeper. And I kept working on myself so I managed to maintain that position.”