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The nonchalance of recent years has disappeared: FCB player Serey Die (left) is late in a friendly match. (Image: Anthony Anex / EPA)
In the second year with the new leadership, FC Basel still seeks safety – and himself
On Saturday, FC Basel will start the season against St. Gallen with a home match. Everything should be different from last season, when the opponents suddenly traveled in the faith in Basel, it was something to get. Lausanne, Lugano, St. Gallen were victorious at St. Jakob-Park, this has not happened in years. And now it seemed to the press conference, as Burgener, Streller and Wicky wanted of course the question, which had led the FCB by chance for many years.
Laxity remained shortly after a year with the new management, with Burgener, Streller, Wicky. FC Basel has become unpredictable and a bit fragile. A year ago, no one expected him to finish in second place, 15 points behind YB. And nobody had predicted the best campaign in the Champions League, starting in the round of 16 against Manchester City.
And now? What does the Baselers intend to do?
No Reverence
Sports leader Streller said at the press conference, "We are now the hunter." Coach Wicky plays the role of the first coach for a bag. Media speculation does not have to bother anyone at the CBF, but it shows how much the CBF vision has changed. There is a fear lost and sometimes even respect. Eyes are turning to Basel as in recent years, when the club seemed overwhelming and won the championship eight times in a row.
FCB President Bernhard Burgener. (Image: Georgios Kefalas / Keystone)
Last summer, FC Basel was relocated. The board of directors, the management of the club, the coach: all new, most without experience in their profession. A year later, Jean-Paul Brigger, delegate of the board of directors, leaves the club. Roland Heri, previously Executive Director of Streller Sporting Director, became CEO. The manager of the Remo Gaugler team receives more tasks and skills. And President Burgener is trying to become more open and accessible. He enjoyed and laughed at the press conference
Marco Streller, Sports Director of the FCB. (Image: Georgios Kefalas / Keystone)
But at FC Basel, these weeks are more focused on tasks and skills. It's about who wants to be the CBF and who represents it. Who is the face of the club. President Burgener prefers to stay in the background. Streller seems predestined and has often taken place over the past year. But he noticed that as sports director, he was too busy for the role of the Basel ambassador, this compilation of the popular hero Karl Odermatt and the elegant president Bernhard Heusler
The club is riddled with volatility to which everyone must get used to. : fans, journalists, bosses and also: the team.
These questions also relate to FC Basel's self-image and its claim to the public. President Burgener said Wednesday, "We would like to bring back the championship trophy" and "it would be good to play in the Champions League". When he was accused of having the subjunctive, Burgener corrected himself, became more concrete. The championship title remains the clear goal of the FCB, but between the protagonists penetrate the uncertainty. The club is riddled with volatility to which everyone must get used to: fans, journalists, bosses and also: the team.
With Tomas Vaclik, Michael Lang and Mohamed Elyounoussi, the FCB is not just a sport but also lost leadership, experience, social skills. With the movements remain questions: Is the goalkeeper Jonas Omlin prepared? Is offensive player Aldo Kalulu really a reinforcer? Is the returnee Zdravko Kuzmanovic staying in Basel and in good health? Coach Wicky is doing the third transition in a year. Last summer and winter, the Basler started badly after the break and took the time to catch up – and YB stormed.
Major players were injured: Eder Balanta, Taulant Xhaka, Samuele Campo. The young Neftali Manzambi left the club because coach Wicky regards him as the right back, but himself as an attacker. Silvan Widmer, recently hired, is the only right-back of the team
Frei and Stocker Affairs
There will also be some changes in the hierarchy after the starts and injuries. Valentin Stocker and Fabian Frei will lead the team – on and off the field. They grew up with the FCB years ago and returned in the winter of the Bundesliga. But in Berlin and Mainz they had played little. Stocker said in an interview at the Aargauer Zeitung this week that he wanted more time at FC Basel to adapt. When Streller was approached by Stocker and Frei at the press conference, the protective instinct overcame him. He played with both and won important games, now he stands up for them, and that proximity is also dangerous. "No one has to worry about Frei and Stocker, I trust them 100 percent," Streller said. He knows that he is measured by their achievements. They are at his risk.
FCB professionals Fabian Frei (left) and Valentin Stocker. (Photo: Annick Ramp / NZZ)
On the side, Frei and Stocker represent the often-spread "Basel route". For the Verbaslerisierung itself, which advances the FCB. Young players linked to the club will be promoted, the Baslers want an identification. President Burgener announced the figures on Wednesday. They can be interpreted in favor of the FCB. But the signal is different: the big FC Basel has fallen into the position where it has to justify itself for its principles. And the question remains: how much do they affect sport?
"It's embarrassing.It's not like an FCB.It's disappointing."
A week ago, FCB lost two friendlies in one day, against Aarau and Feyenoord Rotterdam, 1: 4 and 0: 5. The trainer Wicky was then speaking in his own TV channel as clearly as ever before. "It's embarrassing. It's not like an FCB. It's disappointing.
At the press conference, Wicky downplayed the statements, they were neither a wake-up call nor a warning, but emerged from the moment.But Burgener and Streller then spoke of a "Awakening call" that he absolutely needed.For the moment, let's go.)
L & R FCB head coach, Raphael Wicky (Image: Georgios Kefalas / Keystone)
The championship starts on Saturday.Tuesday, the first match of the European Cup follows in the first of three rounds at the If the FCB qualifies for the Champions League or the Europa League, it will play every three or four days until November – with the exception of the UEFA Champions League. a break for the internationals And a lot is happening too
FC Basel is 125. It celebrates a whole year, with many uses promotions, events, publications and a historic logo on the jersey. The FCB institution is as important as ever – and perhaps more accessible than in recent years. People, who have been saturated after eight league titles as a result, are once again interested, worried, conjectured, hopeful. This is so that all participants perceive. In the past, fans were discussing in the summer of a new game system or the new attacker, now it is fundamentals.
At FCB, everything seems a bit knit and provincial that at the time of the former leaders of President Bernhard Heusler and sports director Georg Heitz, C is as if the club was getting closer a bit more of the rest of the Swiss clubs with their local flavor efforts and the loss of the championship trophy. And we still do not know what this circumstance means in the long run.
The old direction as a ghost
The FCB is still fighting, dealing with one of the most important cuts in the history of the club and a cultural change. The employees are about to find each other. And above all, the old direction still floats – like a ghost. Again and again Burgener and Streller refer to it. Heusler and Heitz themselves are silent at the FCB. They protect the new leadership – and feed their myth.
Like last year, the FCB has many objectives: the championship, the final cup, the participation in a European competition, the promotion of boys and the "Basel Way", Identification with the public, produces transfers and the Cup of Europe. Insecurity stems from these claims, but also an opportunity. Streller says, "If we master this constellation, it would be great."
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