The last few years have shaped Marko Anttila into a player known to the entire nation who always overthrows Russia.
Beijing
Lions elevated to cult cult Marko Anttila flaunts his Olympic gold and compares its value to World Cup gold.
Anttila now has both. He is one of the small nine Finnish players with both golds.
Finland had won the Russian Olympic final 2–1 about an hour earlier. Anttila scored the most important goals of the World Cup tournament in 2019 and he came out again.
Anttila shot at the beginning of the third set towards the Russian goal and Hannes Björninen directed. The winning goal was in it and it had to last just over 19 minutes of excruciating excitement.
In Finnish Anttila has acquired a very special position in hockey. Everyone who follows the puck recognizes him, his playing style and just skating can see when he’s on the ice. Even the size helps and more than two meters.
On top of all that, a rare amount happens in the trough when Anttila and the quadruped chain around him play. This was also the case in the final against Russia.
Hannes Björninen in the middle of the chain and Saku Mäenalanen on the other side was the Lion’s Power Trio as soon as Anttila got out of the hotel quarantine. The same gentlemen dominated the Latvian World Cup last summer.
World Cup gold and silver came into play in Riga. Anttila knows the World Cup finals, he has played in them.
Olympic tournament the final was something new. Anttila was involved in Pyenogchang four years ago, but then the Lions dropped out of the semifinals and took the place among others.
The specialty of the Beijing final was felt from the inside, Anttila talked about it honestly.
“Yes, there has been a sense of excitement here and I myself have to admit that there is a rare amount of excitement. When I jumped on the field, it lost, ”Anttila said.
Anttila referred to the difference between the Beijing Games and it was not just a hotel quarantine that meant wiping out the entire Olympics from him.
A healthy top athlete had to do push-ups and squats in a hotel room while the rest of the team got used to the ice at the National Indoor Sports Center.
The hockey player needs strength and strength training, but just as much he needs ice underneath and other players around him.
“This has been a different tournament and required a lot of mental hardness,” Anttila said. “Uncertainty has had to be tolerated quite a bit.”
There have been everyday corona tests, the stress that comes with them, and the feeling of discomfort. In the midst of all this, Anttila showed his mental hardness again.
“Based on that, too, I’m proud of this team.”
In the second by law, Anttila’s toughness was weighed in the Slovak World Championships in 2019 when he didn’t score a single goal before the semi-finals. Fortunately, then the others took the team with their goals.
In the end, Anttila scored four goals, one more important than the other. Now he got the entry point in the Olympic final, easily against two or three regular goals.
At the World Championships in Slovakia, Anttila was knocking out a team filled with Russian NHL stars in the semi-finals. Again, he was in the same bunch as a pre-educator.
All the questions related to the game Anttila answered with his familiar calm style, until the Russian journalist started praising him as a real Russian picker.
“It’s hard to say why, but the matches are always tough,” Anttila throws the answer, followed by a stopping question.
Couldn’t you come play for the Russian side?
“Good question, but I enjoy playing with these guys and playing in the Lion. I hope the fans have a great time in Finland. ”
Besides, Anttila doesn’t have time to think about playing for Russia when his contract is in progress.
In spring are waiting for the World Cup in Finland, and Anttila would like to play there. The lions play in Tampere, and that’s where Anttila would like to get involved.
“Some race is coming this year, which would be nice to play. It requires its own game again and you have to be able to play well, ”said Anttila.
“Yes, I want to go there at home if I have enough level and my game is in order to get there.”
Head coach Jukka Jalonen has an easy job starting to collect World Cup top five in Tampere, regardless of whether there will be NHL players or not.
At least the quadruple chain is ready and a lot has to happen if we start to split it.
“I’m pretty proud of what I get to represent and what team I belong to. This is a good place to play. ”
Subscribe to the Olympics free newsletter hs.fi/newsletters
Read all the Olympic stuff at hs.fi/olympics
#Hockey #Marko #Anttila #destroying #Russias #dreams #received #stopping #offer #change #countries
