MOSCOW, September 22 Head coach of St. Petersburg SKA Roman Rotenberg explained his comparison of the team’s victory with breaking the siege of Leningrad.
SKA beat Severstal Cherepovets at home on September 20 (4:1) in a match of the KHL regular season. After the game, Rotenberg said that “today the siege of Leningrad was broken,” referring to his club’s victory after five defeats in a row. Later, former head coach of the Russian national team Vyacheslav Bykov and two-time Olympic biathlon champion Dmitry Vasiliev criticized Rotenberg for such a comparison.
«»I was born in Leningrad. In my family there are people who survived the siege. Every year in January we, our team, our club, our entire city celebrate the date of its breakthrough. For 12 years now we have been playing in the Leningrad uniform, we invite to the stands of people who personally saw this tragedy — one of the greatest in the history of mankind,” Rotenberg wrote in his Telegram channel.
Continental Hockey League (KHL)20 September 2023 • start at 19:30Finished
SCARussia4 : 1
SeverstalRussia
06:19 • Vladimir Alistrov (Mikhail Pashnin)
37:40 • Valentin Zykov (Nikolai Polyakov)
50:42 • Alexander Nikishin (Vladimir Alistrov)
51:53 • Valentin Zykov (Nikolai Polyakov)
10:12 • Ilya Ivantsov
See all goals
«We are in the team We often cite these people as an example. We tell how, with the help of perseverance, heroism, and love of life, they survived the worst times for the sake of future generations. We ourselves did not live in those years, but we know those who had this experience. It is extremely important to pass it on to the younger generation, to tell how difficult it can be in our lives, to show real values. As a whole team, we watch a lot of films about the Great Patriotic War, support our veterans, do everything so that the memory of them does not fade. I live and work in my hometown. Breaking the siege of Leningrad is of great importance to me as an example of courage and love of life, with which even the worst circumstances can be overcome,” concluded the SKA coach.