Lucerne are top of the Super League after seven rounds - for the first time since Mario Frick took over as coach in central Switzerland. The Liechtenstein native talks about emotions, black streaks and mentality.
Friday morning, 10.30 a.m., Lucerne Allmend: shouting can be heard from afar. The FC Luzern professional team is training behind the Swissporarena in the shadow of the two high-rise buildings. Three senior citizens have parked their e-bikes, stand by the fence and watch the action. They talk about the old days, when everything was better. Of payment slips and tickets that only cost 45 centimes, but were still too expensive. This no longer has much to do with the FC Luzern of today. On Sunday, the league leaders welcome FC Basel. The stadium is already sold out. Despite the ticket price being many times higher than before, the three onlookers will also be there.
Their chatter is drowned out by shouts. On the training pitch, it's 11 versus 11, high intensity, pressing. Mario Frick and Claudio Lustenberger make themselves heard loudly. Last Saturday, the head coach and his assistant were in each other's arms, cheering in front of the fans and shouting their joy at the 3:2 victory in St. Gallen. Now they give instructions, correct here, praise there. A short time later, the session is over and Frick takes time to talk to the Keystone-SDA news agency in the belly of the arena.
Mario Frick, 14 points after seven games, top of the table. How does that sound to you?
"Good, of course. But we're not blinded by the situation in the table. We know how tight everything is. On Sunday, we play against a direct competitor. FC Basel may only be seventh, but they only have four points fewer than us. If we lose, we'll only be one point ahead. It can happen quickly, in either direction."
Key players such as Ardon Jashari, Max Meyer and Martin Frydek left the club in the summer. Did you expect such a good start to the season after the upheaval?
"Of course there was hope, even if you couldn't expect it. There were a few question marks for us after the major departures. With luck and skill, we brought in the right new players. They brought a breath of fresh air. There was a new hierarchy with young players who were able to gain a lot of experience last season. We are on a very good path. Despite everything, it's still a fragile structure. We are aware that a lot has gone our way in recent weeks, but we are also doing a lot to achieve success. We played really well in the second half in St. Gallen in particular."
Have you ever experienced such emotions as you did last Saturday?
"Yes, I actually have. When we beat Fehervar, the runners-up from Hungary, in the European Cup with Vaduz. Or after winning the barrage against Schaffhausen. There was immense pressure on us."
Their cheers in St. Gallen were perceived as provocation by the home team.
"It wasn't provocative. We finally managed to win in St. Gallen at the eighth attempt. With the stories leading up to the game and the cup defeat in Aarau a week earlier, a lot of things just came together. It all had to come out and was released after the final whistle."
What words did you say at half-time in St. Gallen?
"I told the team to just keep playing the way they did in the first half, I can't remember ever having such energy on the pitch as at the start of the game. I appealed to them to do everything they could to score the equalizer. That it might then turn around."
How difficult is it not to lose heart after being knocked out of the Cup against a lower-ranked team and a first half like that in St. Gallen?
"We quickly put the Aarau game behind us and put all our focus on St. Gallen. Of course, it was a big blow when we suddenly found ourselves 2-0 down - again, because it's often happened to us that we've started well but fallen behind. Especially in St. Gallen, where the stadium is full, it becomes difficult. It simply speaks for the mentality and character of the team that we didn't give up."
You said: "It's extremely important for our awareness that we know we can also win against such a strong team." What did you mean by that?
"If you want to get one step further, you need victories like this. You're 2-0 down against YB, probably the strongest home team in the league. You come back, turn the game around and win 3:2. That can do something to you. It just gives you huge confidence and a lot of self-assurance."
Mario Frick, your teams can turn games around at the back, Luzern already turned the game around in the final minutes in Lugano. Why is that?
"We attach great importance to intensive training. They're not too long, but they're extremely intense. In my opinion, we have the best athletics coach, a real luminary. Chris Schmidt pays attention to every little detail and takes every player into consideration. We are physically ready. We proved that in the second half in St. Gallen."
Their personal St. Gallen curse is over, now they face their next fearsome opponent, FC Basel. Seven of the last eight home games against FCB have been lost. The last home win dates back to June 21, 2020, when they won 2-1 in front of just 300 spectators under Fabio Celestini due to the coronavirus. What makes it so difficult against this team?
"We always had the feeling that we were the better team, despite the many defeats. You can take the game last December as an example. It's actually impossible to lose that one. We were superior, but simply lacked efficiency. That's where we need to start. Series are there to be broken. We won again in St. Gallen after five years without a win. Now it's time to win against Basel."
SDA
