“The story is crazy and the people who knew about hockey were going nuts about the way we played and how we reached the trophy in the end,” says Christopher Ruhr, Germany’s headband-wearing, no-nonsense playmaker. “They knew what it was and what we achieved was extraordinary.”
Ruhr is talking to The Hockey Paper just over a month after Germany’s incredible men’s World Cup campaign. Those in hockey should all know the story – three times coming from 2-0 down in successive matches to lift their first World Cup since 2006 – yet for many in his homeland, the chance to elevate hockey to become a national talking point went begging. “It needs to get to the people but we can’t expect anything big to happen,” adds Ruhr.
On the Sunday of the World Cup final, all the talk was of handball. Germany were playing for fifth (yes, fifth) in the handball World Cup and this minor placing encounter took preference over hockey’s big day for Die Honamas.
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