The surname Odnoga is not unknown in the county. The grandfather was respected as a conscientious gas fitter in many Győr households. Of his children, Otto and Róbert excelled in the sport of wrestling. Lotti, representing the third generation, has just participated in the World Championship with the women’s national ice hockey team, while her brother Mátyás is the first of the family to reach international level: we talked to him about sport, career and life.
– How would you introduce Mátyás Odnoga, who turns twenty-eight in May?
– After a long career as a professional athlete, he took up catering after his parents’ example and has been running a burger joint in the city centre for six months. He is also sticking to his chosen sport, a certified ice hockey player for UNI GYŐR ETO HC in the second division Andersen League. He is also the assistant coach of the team, with several years of experience as a youth coach.
– A young face with an average build: how did a hockey player become the opponent of a striker with a handsome face?
– It started with simple ice skating, then József Bartalis somehow managed to find a way to invite me to a training session. It all started there, when I was six years old. I fell in love with hockey, I made friends on the pitch, later came the successes, I progressed step by step.
– Can we have the details of this?
– At the age of fourteen I joined the youth team of Érsekújvár in Slovakia, then I played in Pest, MTK and then I moved to Innsbruck. The Tyrolean capital is the scene of my first major success, with a silver medal in the Austrian junior championships. I came home because of the foreign rule there at the time, and I played in Debrecen for three years. There I made my debut in the first division, which was called MOL Liga. After that, I played for Dunaújváros Acélbikák, with the most successful period of my career so far, once winning the Golden Player Award as the most prolific home player. With MAC Újbuda, I got to know the atmosphere of the top Slovak ice hockey league, and then I spent a year in Újpest. Next came Vasas, and as a result of the merger of the capital’s clubs in Győr, after twelve years, in the autumn of 2021, I became a “Győr hockey player” again…
– He has been to quite a few places. What would you do differently today?
– I always tried to perform at the highest level, but it was often difficult to cope with the perception that I was not considered a local player anywhere. However, I can be proud of the year I played for MAC, and with today’s mind I would try to extend that period, to meet the Slovakian standards. Looking back, I feel that perhaps I shouldn’t have wished for much more than the home field, and it’s true that there was a time when I was a bit sucked into life in the capital…
– What are the virtues that have brought you to selection?
– I was considered a technical, fast puck player, and I didn’t lack the necessary intelligence in my game. I never went next door for a bit of toughness and, except for the last two years, I have avoided any serious injuries. I wasn’t considered much at the youth level, but when I got the chance at the senior level, I tried to take advantage of it and scored in my second national team match. I have been a national team member six times in total, and I regret that I was not able to take part in the brightest successes of Hungarian ice hockey.
– How do you plan for the future?
– A well-ordered family background and business help to achieve a goal in which hockey will always remain an eternal love. I would like to contribute to bringing hockey in Győr back to the highest level. I am still a player at the moment, but I have already had a taste of the responsibility of coaching, and I am ready to take on this new challenge.
KA: Mátyás Odnoga is back in Győr’s green and white these days, this time in the second division.
Source: Kisalföld
