Until recently, Ridge Munsy and Oliver Buff played as professionals. Now they have arrived in amateur football. blue Sport met them for a chat before their first league match - a direct duel.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The path from professional to amateur. With Ridge Munsy and Oliver Buff, two well-known faces from Swiss football have taken this step.
- In an interview with blue Sport, Buff and Munsy reveal what they are most looking forward to in amateur football, what they can expect and what luxuries they miss from the professional game.
"It's a bit strange when you have to wear your own football boots again," says Oliver Buff with a laugh as he greets Ridge Munsy. The two footballers meet at Werd sports ground for a shoot with blue Sport. Werd sports ground is the home ground of FC Oetwil-Geroldswil, where Oliver Buff plays, and FC Wädenswil with Ridge Munsy are the guests on this Thursday evening. Buff and Munsy have arrived in the middle of regional football. This is after both have played over 100 games in the Super League and internationally in their careers. Now this 2nd division duel will be their first match in amateur football.
"I'm pleased that the tempo is not so high," says Buff about his upcoming 2nd division debut. Munsy, on the other hand, is particularly looking forward to "experiencing a different atmosphere". The 35-year-old then adds: "And I'm looking forward to the interval tea, I've heard that's a thing in amateur football."
Another drink that presumably plays a bigger role in amateur football is beer after the match. As a professional, this was the exception, says Buff: "But here the fridge is always full." Munsy agrees, even after training there is sometimes a beer. Buff jokes: "Some people only come to training for the beer."
"I've never been physically superior"
Munys explains why the two are now continuing to play in the lower leagues as follows: "Having fun is the main focus, I want to stay connected to football." Buff, who retired from professional football in December 2023, agrees: "I realized that I was missing football, not ambitious football, but one where the focus is on having fun. Where having a beer with your colleagues after training is sometimes more important than training."
The two don't really know what to expect in the 2nd division. "It's a different style of football, everything moves a little slower," summarizes Buff. "At 35, I'm certainly not physically superior," explains Munsy and Buff adds icily: "I never was anyway." It's one of many jokes that the two of them make. They have to laugh again and again. As relaxed as the ex-professionals are before the start of the match, it's easy to understand why they decided to take this step.
After all, football was Munsy and Buff's profession, today it's just a hobby. After a day at work, they still go to training in the evening. "There are times when I think, uff, now I'm going to play football instead of going home," says Buff, who works as an academy coach at Grasshoppers. Munsy is employed by Swiss Life and training is a welcome balance for him: "It's fun to be able to train in the evening." However, there will come a day when he won't be able to train because of a "hardening", says Munsy jokingly.
"If the ridge doesn't do it, then it looks good for us"
The fact that you can no longer walk straight to the physio room after training or a game was the biggest change, explains Munsy. The physios there knew that this and that button had to be pressed so that you could "go full throttle again" on the pitch. "That was a luxury we don't have in amateur football. You just carry it with you," explains Buff. You then have to make an external physio appointment. It's a bit different than before, but it's part of the game.
When asked who will win the game, both are still in full professional mode: "The better team should win," says Munsy diplomatically. "I've heard they're not that bad," says Buff meekly. But then Buff adds some excitement: "If the Ridge doesn't do it, then it looks good for us." With a broad grin on his face, Munsy counters: "In that case, it will be difficult..."
In the end, they were both wrong. Munsy may not score, but his FC Wädenswil still deserved to win the game 3:0. And Munsy showed his class with the important 1:0 in the first half. His back heel was at the origin of the opening goal. However, victory or defeat is no longer as important to him as it was in his professional days. The main thing is that the beer fridge is well stocked.
