"That was back in the day when they used to send us thank-you notes with an envelope. That changed because one day, Comrade Štrougal (chairman of the federal government) asked Jirka Holík why the Russians were so good. Jirka says: 'Comrade Chairman, we play for this much and this much - and they get many, many times more for winning.' Štrougal was the first to push this, and we got money for the European Championship in 1971. For the World Championship in Prague, we got a reward. The ČSTV joined in too. We received, I think, 20,000 crowns each from the government and 10,000 from the ČSTV. That was a bonus, which was not customary until then. The Russians always had an advantage in this regard because when they were abroad, they got so much money in foreign currency that we couldn't even dream of. We would get seven marks a day per person."
"Yes, he served even after the war. I even have written documents at home, a certificate issued by his superior about how he behaved during the occupation. Only from my mother's story do I know a case of when my father served at the gendarmerie station in Benešov and got arrested by the Gestapo. He was there for two days for interrogation and returned in a terrible state, beaten and battered. He never wanted to talk about it. I have a desire to find out- I would be very interested in it because at that time, there were allegedly informer's letters from Čurda delivered to the Benešov station. And for a long time, these letters were getting lost. I have a suspicion, and I have it confirmed by a historian who specializes in this period, that my father may have been the one who shredded the letters. There is no other reason why the Gestapo would take him in for questioning and keep him there for such a long time. And doing things to him which he then came home with. This is unresolved history for me, and I still have a desire to know about these months and years in more detail."
"Obviously, we went to the World Championship with what we've been through over the year, with how things have continued to develop. It wasn't that far into this period. It was in August, and we were leaving for the World Championship in March. There was still an idea within the society that after all, hopefully, it wouldn't be as tragic as it seemed at the moment. Now, the hatred towards the Russians was beginning to grow because on one hand- some people had hope - and some people knew rationally that the Russians had everything under control and would not let it go. History repeats itself. Look at the results of the historical matches the Russians have had since then. We all felt we had to make people happy. We had to discuss it at the final training camp. We used to stay at the Hubertus Hotel in Jíloviště before such events. We had a meeting in the lounge next door. The coaches got together, and the president of the federation, Andršt, the players, coaches and everyone who was going to leave got together to decide how to proceed against the Russians. The first thing was the question of performance, sporting, to prepare for the best possible performance. The second question was how to behave towards them. There were already opinions that we would not shake hands with them, none of us. That we will not talk about it, but however the match ends, we will not shake their hands and leave. That's the way it worked out. Fortunately, we won both games. We didn't shake their hands. They were a little shocked."
Josef Horešovský was born on 18 July 1946 in Žilina near Kladno. His father, Josef, was a gendarme, and his mother, Anna, née Podaná, worked as a teacher. During the war, his father worked at the gendarmerie station in Benešov, Central Bohemia. He was arrested by the Gestapo and after two days of interrogation, he returned home in a wretched state. The Nazi secret police arrested him on suspicion of destroying informer’s letters. After the Communist coup in 1948, he was dismissed from service by the officials of the National Security Corps. He then worked at Škoda Plzeň as a repairer of small machines. He died before his fifty-second birthday. Josef Horešovský started playing hockey in Kladno as a young junior and was recruited by the legendary coach Vlastimil Sýkora. At the age of 16, he made his way to the adult first-league team. He made it to the junior national team. After graduating, he entered the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Charles University in Prague at the age of 17. Due to the difficulty of commuting from his classes in Prague to Kladno, he transferred to Sparta Prague. In 1968, he represented Czechoslovakia at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, where the national team won silver medals and defeated the Soviet Union 5-4. On 21 August 1968, the day of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops, he was at Sparta’s training camp in Litvínov. In March 1969, he participated in the World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden. There, Czechoslovakia twice defeated the representatives of the occupying power, the Soviet Union. They finished third, just one point short of the World Championship title, but were still praised as heroes at home. On 1 July 1969, he started a two-year military service in Dukla Jihlava. In Switzerland, in 1971, he won second place at the World Championship and first place at the European Championship. In May 1972, Josef Horešovský and the Czechoslovakia team won the World Championship title in Prague. In February 1972, he represented Czechoslovakia at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, and won a bronze medal. In September of the same year, he played in Prague in a memorable first game between Czechoslovakia and a selection of top Canadian professionals, which ended 3-3. His last appearance for the national team was in 1974 against the Canadian-American WHA team, an NHL rival. Then severe hip and back problems kept him out of the national team. He coached in France for four years in the 1980s, and after returning to Czechoslovakia, he won championship titles for Sparta as a coach or assistant coach in 1989/1990 and 1993/1994. In the 1990/1991 season, he was assistant coach of the Czechoslovak national team. He last coached in 2008 in Třebíč. In 2022, he lived in Žilina near Kladno, he was married for the second time. He had two daughters from his first marriage.
Josef Horešovský (first from the right on top) in the match against the Soviet Union at the 1969 World Championship. The national team won 4:3. Goalkeeper Vlado Dzurilla getting one of the three goals
Josef Horešovský (first from the right on top) in the match against the Soviet Union at the 1969 World Championship. The national team won 4:3. Goalkeeper Vlado Dzurilla getting one of the three goals
Josef Horešovský (second from the right) after winning the World Championship title in Prague in 1972. On his right František Pospíšil, on his left Jiří Bubla and Jiří Holík
Josef Horešovský (second from the right) after winning the World Championship title in Prague in 1972. On his right František Pospíšil, on his left Jiří Bubla and Jiří Holík
