Anders Pudding Weiderstål: I will miss the guys

Nearly all clubs have their materialare – a person who keeps track of players ' equipment, washes shirts, sharpens skates, see to it that it is the fruit and drink, and so on. In the smaller clubs they are working often free in the evenings and weekends. At its height, they can get a klubbjacka as payment.

So they saw it even once in the time of Anders Weiderstål or ”Pudding” as he is called. The nickname he got as low after a friend's mother came on saying this: ”Anders Panders Puddingpastej sail around the earth with a girl”.

" I was a bit teased for it. But now I think it is pretty fun, " he says, and says that his international colleagues can call and ask for the ”mr. Pudding”.

" They don't know that I named Anders.

in the morning when we get hold of him on the phone. Despite the fact that he's starting to get a sore throat, he is at work as usual.

– It will take a lot for me to stay at home. I have been brought up so. In addition, I can't work from home like many others. I need to hit in order to be able to pack the stuff.

Since 1980 he has been employed by the Swedish ice hockey federation that taking. First for the juniors in the four years and then for Three Crowns.

" It was Curre Lindström, who said to me: ”this can be a job, you can support yourself on it”. The law began to acquire a person who handled the purchase, washed, made sure there were drink and sandwiches and that was a bit of order. It became a profession.

But really started his career much earlier. Anders father was a trainer in Huddinge, sweden, and itself began Pudding play when he was a toddler. In late adolescence slowed down his interest, however, he continued to hang in the background and watch when his friends played. Finally, he was asked if he could help. On the way it is.

" When I started, players just as old as I am. Forty years later I have hung out with the sextiotalister, sjuttiotalister, åttiotalister, nittiotalister and now I'm inside on the nollnollor.

" Then it was just eighteen players in each team, usually the local guys. It was not unusual that they stayed in eight, ten years. It was a real group of friends that did everything together: all the drove the the bench press, situps, and ate sausage in the oven with mashed potatoes and all went out at the same place. It was a very fun period.

today it is around twenty-five players in a team. Of them replace the ten club every year. In addition, everything has become much more individually.

– now buy the players of the shampoo as they want, eat the fruit they want. They are preparing for the match so that they think are great. They have advisors telling them that this is how you should exercise and the food you eat. All doing their thing. The consequence is that you will never get the group together in the same way, can never create the same feeling.

Many of my buddies have earned more than I, but no one has had more fun. It can I guarantee.

at the same time, he says that the hockey game has evolved and become much more professional, but it also requires more of the players.

– They are extremely well trained, and was fighting in the tactics and the different gaming systems. And they don't know about anything else. When I drag the story if that all did exactly as before and even ate the same food they think it is strange.

is about the material, he is also a bit like a extrapappa with pepper and listen. He has been happy as a fish in the water.

– Many of my buddies have earned more than I, but no one has had more fun. It can I guarantee. It is the only one in the whole of Sweden who can have this job. It is a privilege that I have been doing it for so long. For a player extends a played over five years. My has lasted for thirty-five years.

Of all the hockeymaterialare on the national team, he is probably the person who had the job the longest. So far, he has been involved in over a thousand appearances, won two OLYMPIC gold medals and seven world CHAMPIONSHIP gold medals. But after the world CHAMPIONSHIPS in Slovakia in may, he has decided to retire.

" I have decided to stop himself. It is much easier than to hear from the head office that they decided to terminate me. Then bang so hard. But it will be skitjobbigt, I will miss the atmosphere, the matches, guys.

– at the same time I have my wife, children and grandchildren, and we have a place in the country, and I'm good at finding things. I have forsaken terribly much, but you can't recoup time. It will be a huge conversion. I hope I can do it.

”the Spider” replaces the ”Pudding” in the Three Crowns.