Temporary Fribourg coach Lars Leuenberger wants to be more than an emergency helper

SDA

30.1.2025 - 05:00

Guarantee of success: Fribourg-Gottéron's turnaround came with Lars Leuenberger on the sidelines
Guarantee of success: Fribourg-Gottéron's turnaround came with Lars Leuenberger on the sidelines
Keystone

With Lars Leuenberger, success has returned to Fribourg-Gottéron. In this interview, the "temporary head coach" talks about the turnaround, his reputation as an emergency helper and a very special monkey.

Keystone-SDA

As a player, Lars Leuenberger left his mark on Fribourg-Gottéron for two seasons shortly after the turn of the millennium. Since December 23, the former SCB champion coach has been working for the club in a new role as head coach. He will step down to the second tier as assistant to the Swede Roger Rönnberg for the coming season.

By winning the Spengler Cup just nine days after taking up his post, the native of eastern Switzerland brought Fribourg-Gottéron their first ever trophy, reigniting the euphoria at the club. Since Leuenberger's arrival, the Fribourg team has been transformed, scoring points in all twelve championship games and gradually moving closer to the play-off places. In an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency, Lars Leuenberger talks about the reasons for the upswing, his reputation as an emergency helper and reveals what a monkey has to do with the Dragons' title premiere.

Lars Leuenberger, you can look back on a very intense and successful few weeks. Fribourg-Gottéron have barely been in office and have already had something to celebrate by winning the Spengler Cup. It must feel like a dream right now.

It all happened so incredibly quickly. From zero to one hundred, so to speak. It also turned our family life completely upside down, as the plan was for me to be home much more often this winter. I don't think I'll really realize it all until after the season. It sounds strange, but that's exactly how it feels. I started work here on December 23, celebrated Christmas with my family on December 24 and packed the last few things for the Spengler Cup. The next day I went straight to Davos. It was a great experience, simply wonderful.

It was Fribourg-Gottéron's first ever trophy, you couldn't imagine a better start. What did this do to the club?

Everyone was simply happy. It gave us new motivation, new hope. In English, there is the expression 'having a monkey on your shoulder', which stands for a burden, a problem or a worry that you carry around with you. This monkey is now gone. The timing was perfect, of course.

Things continued in a similar vein after the turn of the year. The team managed to take the momentum with them and score points in all championship matches despite a mammoth program. Does that surprise you?

I say that to the team and that's how I'm living at the moment: 'We're taking it game by game'. It may sound like a cliché, but in our current situation we shouldn't be looking at the table. I'm just happy for the whole organization, which has been through difficult times and can now finally celebrate victories again. We know that we can beat anyone in this league. We just have to keep up the pace. That was partly the problem recently. We weren't as consistent as before. Nevertheless, we still scored points, which is very positive.

What are the reasons for the successful turnaround?

We haven't completely overhauled the system, but we have adjusted a lot of small things. Our focus was on the detail work. We discussed these details and the team was able to implement them very quickly - that was hugely important. The second essential point is belief. At some point, you lose faith in something. Then suddenly someone new comes along and restores that belief. If you can then win right away, it helps immensely. It strengthens the faith of everyone involved. It gives the team a real boost.

The changes have been particularly noticeable in defensive behavior.

Yes, we've improved a lot, especially in our own zone and when playing without the puck. That was a key point for me. The whole thing is a process, and if it works, the results will automatically follow.

Samuel Walser and Reto Berra celebrate after winning the Spengelr Cup.
Samuel Walser and Reto Berra celebrate after winning the Spengelr Cup.
KEYSTONE

You have a reputation as a coach for being an emergency helper. Does that bother you?

It doesn't really bother me. A lot has already been written about me, it's part of the business. I did fill in twice in Bern, and later also in Biel, but my last job was in Olten for almost three years. I don't see myself as a classic firefighter.

You mention the EHC Olten chapter. You were sacked there for the first time in your career almost exactly a year ago. How did you deal with it?

Of course it was unpleasant at first, but in this business you are aware of such risks. I was able to deal with the situation quickly. After a short time, everything was back to normal for me. It's never nice to be out of a job, but that's part of it.

And then Fribourg came knocking ...

There were some interesting offers. The people in charge at Fribourg approached me early on. I was convinced of their plans. So I knew early on what was in store for me next season. That took a lot of pressure off me. As a result, I was able to take a more relaxed approach to the winter.

You are taking the step back from head coach to assistant coach after this season. The reverse path is common practice. Is there a certain risk involved?

This step was an issue for me when I was asked to step in shortly before Christmas. I discussed it intensively with my wife, but also with Gerd (Zenhäusern, Fribourg's head of sport - ed.). It really is a special situation. You hope it goes well because it can also be important for the future. At some point you have to say to yourself: 'I'm going to throw myself into this adventure and not think too much about what might happen in five months' time. Life is too short to be constantly afraid or respectful of such things.

Does this also affect your coaching style?

There's certainly a difference between taking over a team in the summer break and implementing your philosophy and stepping in in the middle of the season. From that point of view, you need a 'kind of light version'.

You also exchange ideas with the future Freiburg head coach Roger Rönnberg, who is still working at Frölunda in Sweden until the end of the season. What exactly does this exchange look like?

We talk on the phone from time to time. Not as often as we did before I started. We talk about how things are going here in Freiburg and what's going on with him in Sweden. Of course we also talk about the future, but it's mostly about day-to-day business. It's important to us that we don't look too far ahead.

Since your arrival in Freiburg, it's been one game after another, the rhythm of the game is similar to that in the playoffs. Gottéron is still playing in Kloten and at home against the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers until the national team break, after which there will be a break of almost two weeks. Are you longing for this break?

Not so much for me personally, I've only been with the team for a good five weeks now. But for the team it was a big strain mentally and physically. That's why it's important for the players to be able to switch off and recover. We finally have the opportunity to train properly again, which has hardly been possible in recent weeks.

When can the season be considered a success?

It's difficult to give an answer right now. We want to see a good process as a team and then see where that takes us. But of course the goal - as with all 13 other teams - is still to reach the playoffs.