Red Army Page #3

They've come through

like true champions.

It was a great win, you know,

for everybody,

and I think it just proves

that our way of life

is the proper way to continue on.

It was tough.

You better believe

the Soviet authorities are not happy.

The government will certainly

be taking matters into their own hands.

...if they don't see an opportunity...

What's the price they pay over there?

Finally, tonight, from overseas,

a story about hockey.

A team in the Soviet Union

is still dwelling on

a championship lost.

There have been some changes made.

After the Olympic games,

Tikhonov fired the veterans.

It's wrong.

All these guys,

all these supporting staff,

this is the successful team.

Not him.

After that game,

the workload became tremendous.

There were players who pissed blood.

We practiced four times a day

in the summertime.

Four times.

We're working at a heart rate of 220.

Can you imagine? 220.

Players had to live

in these hockey camps,

isolated 11 months of the year.

And they would get out

maybe one weekend every month.

You win by being merciless in training.

The coach must perpetuate

this tradition.

A coach must find a player's pressure

points to achieve maximum results.

It's the carrot and the stick,

like an animal trainer.

To get masterpieces from the beasts,

you have to force them a little bit.

Did I respect him?

As my coach? Yes.

As a person? No.

The Soviets are back

after that American defeat,

back in 1980 at Lake Placid.

Well, there aren't many left

from that 1980 team.

Fetisov, a couple

of their superstars remain,

but the rest of the team

has been completely rebuilt.

You have to be born a goalie.

I am a destroyer.

I destroy the plans of the adversary.

Vladislav Tretiak in the net.

The best goalie in the world.

Tretiak is almost unbeatable.

The greatest goaltender

the game has ever seen.

Tikhonov was given

ready-to-use material.

Tarasov had created stars.

It was to his credit that

he created a five-man unit.

They were the best.

...are the strike force

of the Soviet team.

When the five got together,

no one knew how to play them.

At left wing, number 24, Sergei Makarov.

He was the most dangerous player

in the world.

The mastery and the wizardry of Makarov,

who hung onto that puck

and then just gave it.

He can make the goal

from nowhere, anytime.

He scored more goals than

anybody in our hockey history.

And they score!

At right wing, number nine,

Vladimir Krutov.

He was a Russian tank.

Krutov here, only 5'9

but he weighs almost 200 pounds.

He was the soul of the five-man unit.

At center, number 11, Igor Larionov.

Igor was the professor.

I've got a question.

Why was he "the professor"?

Because he was skinny like that.

Not a professor, maybe nerd.

Skinny but tough.

It kind of misleads lots of guys.

Number seven, Alexei Kasatonov.

He was my best friend.

Seven and two, Fetisov and Kasatonov.

They've played together for so long

that they know each other's

moves instinctively.

And when one goes in,

the other kind of trails back,

and it just works for them.

Fetisov to Kasatonov.

Shoots, he scores!

He was teammate. He was roommate.

Alex became my younger brother.

My mom cooked for him,

and my grandpa was like his grandpa.

It's tough to find any closer relationship

between two men.

Alex is probably the best all-around

defensemen ever to play the game.

I believe he (Slava) was the best defenseman

in the history of world hockey.

Number two, Viacheslav Fetisov.

Slava was our leader, of course.

In the way he skated, his character.

And he gets leveled by Fetisov.

Fetisov showing that good strength.

6'1 205 pounds. He's no small player.

Tikhonov came from the Politburo

and said:

"Slava, I got good news.

"You're going to be captain of

the Soviet National Team."

I said, "Thank you, but I'm not."

He said, "You stupid?"

I said, "I'm not."

But when I talked to the guys,

they said, "We want you

to be our captain."

I said, "Okay."

Why they choose me, I don't know.

But I become the youngest ever

captain of the national team.

In Soviet hockey,

the lines stay together.

Five-man unit.

They like to keep the line

and the two defensemen together

for as long as they possibly can.

We were great friends in real life.

I tell you, they were good people,

kind and always ready to help.

We never let each other down.

What were they like as individuals?

We were all practically

the same, you know?

We'd celebrate the birthdays,

the family things.

We went to restaurants together.

We would spend vacation time.

We were all the same.

But did they read, have hobbies?

What were their personalities?

We were the same.

Why are you asking me the same thing?

They just clicked from the get-go.

They had a lot of confidence in each other,

and they had a lot of pride.

And those players will go down in history

as the greatest five-man units of all time.

They had a sixth sense about them.

They had eyes in the back of their head.

Sometimes you feel without a look.

Your partner must be there.

The Soviets really perfected the weave.

They move like one body.

Holy cow, what a play by the Soviets!

Fetisov was number two in scoring,

even though he was a defender.

He would go forward

and Makarov would draw back.

They score!

Everything was like this.

The opponents did not know who to cover.

Circling back, Fetisov,

Larionov, Makarov.

He scores!

The goals that they scored

would be highlight reel goals.

They all touched the puck.

The skill level of that team

was astounding.

They elevated hockey to an art form.

No one could hold them back.

What they did on the ice...

Yes, they were the best.

The Soviet Union

has defeated Team Canada

8-1 in the Canada Cup.

And this crowd here at the Forum

has gone very quiet

as Scotty Bowman looks on.

We had Wayne Gretzky,

Guy Lafleur, Gilbert Perreault.

But they whipped us so bad.

We didn't expect it.

They have beaten the Islanders,

the Boston Bruins,

and now the Jersey Devils.

A Soviet team has defeated

the defending Stanley Cup champion.

The first time ever.

They've outscored the opposition 42-5.

The Soviets are the best team

in the world.

Gold medal, give it to the Russians.

Let them go home.

- You just don't see how it can get any better.

- He scores!

Well, you know,

the Russians are so darn good.

One man and a goalie to beat.

Drops it back. Krutov scores.

That's how it's done.

You'll not see any nicer

than that, folks.

You just can't compete.

It's just too difficult.

When the Big Red Machine gets rolling,

they're mighty hard to stop.

This is the big one.

So, we are now

into the gold medal match.

It's Czechoslovakia

against the Soviet Union.

For the Soviets, it's very,

very important

because they didn't take that medal

in Lake Placid in 1980.

And if the Czechs take it

from them this time,

there will really be

a shake-up in Soviet hockey.

This is Larionov, number 11.

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