HC Lugano wanted to be calmer, more modest and more down-to-earth. Now the proud Ticino team is facing its worst ranking since returning to the top division.
09.01.2025, 05:00
09.01.2025, 06:46
SDA
Calvin Thürkauf stands in the catacombs of the Biel Arena and has to do late Tuesday night what is also part of his duties as captain: provide explanations for another defeat of his HC Lugano. They made one crucial mistake too many, says the 27-year-old, referring to the loss of the puck, which EHC Biel exploited to make it 2:1 with just over two minutes to go. "That can't happen to us."
The few media representatives from Ticino who have made the long journey from Sottoceneri to Seeland are otherwise occupied during the national player's comments. Probably also because they have heard Thürkauf dictate similar sentences into the microphones at some point in recent weeks and months. There have been plenty of opportunities, i.e. defeats.
Gianinazzi, the 19th pick
After 34 rounds, HC Lugano is 13th in the National League standings with 42 points. Only Ajoie have collected fewer points so far this season. It's an unusual picture for a club that still wants to be "grande" in its self-image. In other words, a top team that plays for the title and wins. A team that puts the competition from German-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland in their place with inspiring attacking field hockey. And a team that is the clear number 1 in the canton.
At the moment, as so often in recent years, these expectations and reality are once again further apart than the first and last car in a long line of traffic jams at the Gotthard, when it feels like half of German-speaking Switzerland craves the warmth of the Ticino sunshine over the holidays. Lugano has not won a playoff series since reaching the playoff final in 2018 under current Ajoie coach Greg Ireland. Luca Gianinazzi is the 19th coach since 2006 to be entrusted with the task of leading HCL back to where it was for the last time: right at the top. Harold Kreis coached the Bianconeri to their seventh and so far last championship title.
The trust of the CEO
Gianinazzi knows that Lugano should not only stand for palm trees and sunshine, but also for success. After all, the 32-year-old has spent virtually his entire field hockey life in Lugano. First as a player in the junior section, then as a coach in the youth section. And since October 8, 2022 as coach of the first team, when he was allowed to take over from the sacked Chris McSorley.
Given the unsatisfactory sporting situation and the turnover in the coaching position in previous years, it seems somewhat surprising that Gianinazzi is still here. But the youngest coach in the National League is also a symbol of a paradigm shift that president and patron Vicky Mantegazza seems to have made. The billionaire is tired of constantly having several coaches on the payroll.
Instead, locals who, like Gianinazzi, have a deep connection to the club, are to create a better sense of identification and thus more continuity and calm. It is a model that cantonal rivals Ambri, of all clubs, have been using for eight seasons now with coach Luca Cereda and head of sport Paolo Duca. "We don't want to force success, we want to build it up," CEO Marco Werder once said in the NZZ. And the 52-year-old recently told Blick that the club is still convinced that Gianinazzi is the way forward. "We were aware that a crisis would come at some point. We are trying to help him get out of it."
Domenichelli's pressure
However, the demands in Leventina are not nearly as high as in Lugano. In this respect, it remains questionable whether the Bianconeri's management team will not resort to the usual mechanism of changing coaches at some point, which would have been used long ago. Especially if Lugano were to finish lower than 10th for the first time since their return to the top flight in 1982.
In a slump like this, it would be interesting to see how the sporting management assesses the situation. However, sporting director Hnat Domenichelli is currently traveling abroad and cannot be reached for comment. However, there is no question that the 48-year-old Canadian is also under pressure and must find a path to success. After Sami Kapanen, Serge Pelletier and Chris McSorley, Luca Gianinazzi is the fourth coach Domenichelli has hired since he took over as head of sport in May 2019. The former winger emphasized several times that Gianinazzi was his last coaching appointment. There are therefore some indications that Domenichelli's time at HCL would also come to an end if Gianinazzi were no longer on the sidelines.
Törmänen's input
But at the moment he is still there, and with him sometimes someone who very few would have expected to be there: Antti Törmänen. The former SC Bern champion coach, who led EHC Biel to the playoff final in 2023 but then had to step down due to a new bout with cancer, has been in his role as "Senior Advisor" since the beginning of December and has now played ten games. The 54-year-old Finn is available as an advisor and mentor to the first team and junior players. A measure that is definitely paying off, says captain Thürkauf. "It helps a lot. Antti has a lot of experience that he can pass on to our coaches."
Among other things, this input has led to adjustments in the playing system and the structure of the moves has improved. But regardless of these positive trends: The most important thing, the points, are missing far too often. Thürkauf says: "We finally have to start winning games. We can't carry on like this."
