Sunny Sochi with its impressive sports complexes is a sports lover's dream
Cloudless skies and bright sunshine at a pleasant 16 degrees Celsius: Sochi is presenting itself at its best these days during the German national ice hockey team's stay. Directly opposite the team hotel is the Russian coastal city's impressive sports complex in every respect. “It's really impressive what they've created here,” marveled Simon Danner from the Schwenninger Wild Wings not bad.
In fact: Sochi is an absolute must for sports lovers Parathis. Ice hockey, tennis, football, figure skating, the World Cup stadium, the Formula 1 track on one side, an amusement park with roller coaster, Ferris wheel and many other attractions on the other. The site of the 2014 Olympic Games is well maintained and shines in all its splendour.
It is only about 400 meters on foot from the hotel to the sea. The national players used the free time there yesterday before and after lunch training for long walks directly by the water. Even the very well-maintained promenade is used by the locals for sports. Numerous school classes and recreational athletes repeatedly crossed paths DEB-Guys who sat down to enjoy the sun in one of the cafes overlooking the Black Sea.
Training isn't all that tranquil. National coach Marco Sturm and his assistants Daniel Kreutzer and Tobias Abstreiter worked meticulously on tactical details with the team on the ice. The focus here was on the “five-on-five” game as well as the special teams. “Everyone is very committed,” said Sturm, praising his young squad with eight newcomers. Since Nico Sturm had to cancel the first phase of preparation at short notice, the coach “only” has eleven strikers available for the next two matches.
One of them is Nico Krämmer from the Kölner Haien. Sturm named the attacker captain on the day of arrival. “It is a great honor and fills me with pride that I can hold this position,” said Krämmer. After all, the KEC offensive player has the most experience in the current team with 32 international matches. The national coach initially left it open who Krämmer's assistants on the ice would be. A decision will be made on match day.
The Fans in Germany you can watch both games live. The match on Friday (06.04./18.30 p.m.) will be shown on the SPORT1 live stream, the game on Saturday (07.04./16.00 p.m.) on free TV on SPORT1.