Roman Rotenberg: “Without the support of Gazprom, victory at the 2018 Olympics would not have been possible”

Romain Rotenberg worked as Chief of Staff for the Russian National Team at the 2018 Olympics, held in Pyeongchang, Korea. Our team won gold there for the first time in 26 years.

And in January 2022, Rotenberg became the head coach of SKA, and now the St. Petersburg club is in first place in the KHL regular season, leading by an impressive margin over its competitors.

“I form SKA, but I am an employee of Gazprom

— Roman Borisovitch, you started your career at Gazprom Export. Tell me about those times.

— Gazprom has brought me a lot. In 2007, I was lucky enough to get an interview with Alexander Ivanovitch Medvedev at Gazprom Export.

Why Gazprom Export? Because I knew the languages, I have an economic background, I was able to work with partners to whom we supplied gas: Europe, America, almost the whole world. For me, it was a challenge.

Since the day I was hired, I have been an employee of Gazprom. It is such a big organization where you can work in any profession. It is clear that I had an economic sense. I thank Gazprom for my career, for all that I have accomplished. I started at the bottom of the company and saw how it treats employees, how everything is built. All employees are the best professionals in their field. The most qualified people.

Thanks to Gazprom, I was able to return to hockey. At that time, I did not play and did not plan, although I was interested in sports, I had the opportunity to find out how everything works, for example, at Chelsea football club.

Gazprom Export had a hockey team, Alexander Ivanovich Medvedev was its captain. He saw in my resume that I played hockey, won junior tournaments, was a team captain and played for various regional teams. Alexander Ivanovitch asked me if I was ready to come to the training. He said that Gazprom Export employees have the opportunity to play for this team.

I understood that it would not be easy – there were very high level hockey players, but, of course, I accepted – it was a challenge for me. I remember how we went to the Yasenevo ice rink – it’s quite a distance from the office. As in childhood I went to training with a trunk, I spent two hours in traffic jams. I immediately remembered my childhood. Life itself brought me back to hockey, and it happened thanks to Gazprom.

“We built Hockey City, one of the best bases in the world”

— Gazprom joined SKA in 2006. How did the partnership with such a company change the life of the club?

– We all remember that SKA after the collapse of the 90s turned into a local club. There was no arena, no modern base. Now we are talking about winning streaks and records, but then the team had a Russian record for a losing streak. He lasted a very long time. It was before Gazprom.

But SKA together with Gazprom, as many say, is the number one club in Europe. They are the best fans, the best arena in terms of energy and atmosphere. It is a club that has won the Gagarin Cup twice and is consistently at the top of the KHL.

We are proud that the company and Alexey Borisovich Miller personally help SKA. Thanks to them, we have the opportunity to develop hockey in St. Petersburg. Many already call St. Petersburg the center of hockey along with Kazan, Yaroslavl, Moscow and other traditional hockey cities. Thanks to our work and thanks to the help of Gazprom, we have reached this level. Now we have to move on.

Separately, it is worth noting the contribution of Gazprom and Alexei Borisovich Miller to our victory at the Olympics in 2018. Then we were able to bring back many NHL players and create a strong team. All this was done to the detriment of Gazprom’s budget. The team had a coaching staff, staff, managers – all from SKA. 15 SKA players in the national team is a world record. Never before had there been 15 players from one club in a team that had won Olympic gold. Without Gazprom’s investments, this victory would have been impossible. We have the company to thank for that. We will always do our best to respond with victories to such trust.

— Are there any recent examples of how cooperation with Gazprom helps SKA achieve results?

– Recently, we held training camps in Sochi at Gazprom Galaktika facilities. This is a great support from Gazprom for us. It is important that SKA has the opportunity to train there and take advantage of the excellent infrastructure. The personal support and participation of Alexei Borisovich Miller is also very important to us. He follows, calls and gives valuable advice. Motivates us to win. It is our strength.

The Gazprom company represented by Alexei Borisovich Miller is still there. Help, support in any situation. Gazprom’s corporate culture and ethics are an example for us. They are observed within the SKA team. I myself have been a Gazprom employee for 16 years.

We built our Hockey City complex thanks to the support of Gazprom. I think that today it is one of the best sports bases not only in Russia, but in the whole world. Not all NHL clubs have such an infrastructure. All teams in our system are now training together – this is very important for preparation.

“We want to repeat the championship parade on Nevsky Prospekt”

— The most vivid impression of cooperation with Gazprom over the years?

— Our Parade of Champions on Nevsky Prospekt and Palace Square — in total, about 200,000 fans came to our events. There were about 60-70,000 in Palace Square – it just didn’t fit anymore. This is the most striking impression. We have seen the fruits of our labor. We strive to repeat – this is our motivation.

Another highlight is our matches at the Gazprom Arena. For the KHL, it’s a very unique experience. Although in the NHL the teams did not play in such arenas, the rather old baseball stadiums are most often used there for “classics”. You won’t see anything from the top rows. We had the chance to play in a super modern stadium with excellent visibility from any seat and with a roof. And this happened a few months after the World Cup was held there.

We did not depend on the weather at all: if it snowed heavily or if a thaw arrived, the matches would not have to be postponed. As a result, we played four matches in two years – the national team played twice and SKA played twice against CSKA. At each meeting, more than 60,000 spectators gathered and set many records – the most attended game in the KHL, the most attended hockey game in the history of Russian hockey. Players still remember those matches with a special feeling. Due to the pandemic we had to take a break, but I think we will play at Gazprom Arena again. It’s an amazing experience.

– One of the tasks of the SKA is the education of new talents, the development of young people. How does Gazprom help?

— Gazprom invests a lot in the development of children’s hockey. The Hockey City complex was built, which is the basis of the SKA system. Skating rinks are being built throughout the country under the Gazprom for Children program. They give the opportunity to play hockey. Gazprom invests in the development of various sports. We travel a lot in the regions and see what contribution Gazprom makes with its Gazprom for Children program. Many do not see this work, but we understand it.

Gazprom also helps by example, looks to the future, invests in the comprehensive development of the individual and the social environment, implementing, among other things, projects in the field of education, culture, contemporary art and the integrated development of territories. know that the company has its own schools. For example, in St. Petersburg there is a general education school “Gazprom” – one of the best in Russia, the best in the city, which has a unique atmosphere, including both educational and sports programs , cultural, which allow children to develop We also try to look at everything that is complex.