Arno is gone, Arno is here – Sport news: Ice Hockey

Arno Del Curto is gone, but Arno Del Curto is still there. Patrick Fischer, National Coach. Thierry Paterlini, conductor of the Swiss U-18 band Christian Wohlwend, ditto for the U-20. Michel Giant, junior coach in Davos and since then, temporary solution for the troop in difficulty of the HCD.

This is just a selection, the list could be expanded. They have one thing in common: they are "Arnos disciples" to paraphrase him with trivial polemical words. To be honest, they are certainly deeply influenced by Del Curto. Fischer and Paterlini were both captains of HCD under Engadine, who resigned from HCD on Tuesday after more than 22 years.

Swissness? Or cleaning?

A resignation that triggered a small earthquake and brought the search engine of a successor to a higher gear. With Pascal Müller, rather at the strategic level, and Reto d'Arx, two more names have been passed as potential future HCD employees, both of whom have an intense past with Del Curto.

There are not only all kinds of names, but also tips on the course of Davos. The variant of the mallet: the household! Everything and everyone has to leave, he needs new people at all levels of the organization. That's what you prefer to be in Davos. The timing could not be worse to provoke even more useless excitement.

Regarding the coach, there are also tips, no matter where you look: he needs Swissness, he is a Swiss. He needs a stranger, without going to Switzerland or at least Davos, because it is now a new wind to finally break the old structures and crusts.

If it contradicts itself diametrically, both make sense at first sight.

But only at the beginning. The HCD would do well not to have a leader from another league who has no knowledge of our hockey. Himself and especially not he came from a "real" ice hockey country like Sweden or Finland. He who associates the name "HC Davos" with a traditional European club, Swiss champions and the Spengler Cup. Then there is a brutal awakening for the new coach capable of HCD.

Bad ideas

Just like Hans Wallson, when he arrived at ZSC with incredible references at Skelleftea and was surprised to find that our juniors and our players are on average less educated than their home country, they did not exactly the same perfect fitness scores. And in general, everything in Swiss hockey is not as professional as before. That Wallson could not adapt enough was then his mistake. But in the end, this knowledge did not benefit any of the participants.

Imagine what big eyes Wallson or anyone from Scandinavia do now after a few days of "Adventure Park HCD", though he was immersed in the current chaos of the record champions. Alleluia!

Josef Marha would be one, but …

No, that HC Davos needs both. A little "Swissness", absolutely. It is not even necessary that it 's a Swiss passport, but a man who knows a little what to expect. And it should bring freshness, not too much with everything and anything in the HCD. And he should be respected by the team, not totally nameless.

There is one that fills almost everything: Josef Marha, the most successful foreign player of HC Davos. He has been coach since his resignation as a player, although in his home country of the Czech at least 16, but he brought everything else, including the total craze for hockey and the Winner gene. (And by the way: he's also a "disciple of Arno", but he now has enough distance from Del Curto not to be confronted with this reproach.)

But Marha probably will not do it, because in Davos, it's more about "an experienced coach with adults". It is understandable from the point of view of the researcher, only this experience does not guarantee any success in the current situation. And remember, when Arno Del Curto became a HCD trainer in 1996, it was one of the craziest and least conventional things you could ever imagine.

Dual Office makes sense only in the short term

However, the time in Davos rushes. The provisional solution with Giant, assisted by the sports director René Müller, makes sense. For the moment, for the weekend and maybe a week beyond. But it also has its shortcomings: Again, this is a duplicate with Müller, who was recently appointed Director of Sports by the HCD Junior Chief.

But the position of sports director is currently extremely important and challenging. The search for the definitive coach, several contract extensions, the search for a new stranger and new players for the upcoming season require a considerable effort. The double desk is far from ideal. (Editors Tamedia)

Created: 29.11.2018, 15:11