As weak as FCB is now: Aliti remembers FCZ’s colossal false start

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There is currently a large gap between expectations and reality at FCB: 5 points from 11 games, bottom of the table.

One bankruptcy follows another. Pure frustration – among players, staff and fans. “You lose at the weekend, suffer for two days, then give even more and then get hit again,” says Alanyaspor defender Fidan Aliti. The 30-year-old from Basel knows what he is talking about. A year ago he found himself in the same situation at the FCZ: the surprising champions of the previous season also started with great ambitions and could not get out of the starting blocks. 5 points from 11 games – the same horror record as FCB today. “At some point you get to a point where all you have are doubts,” Aliti recalls.

What to do in the mega crisis? In such situations, teams have already gone out to drink as a group out of frustration. “Maybe sooner,” says Aliti and laughs. “The majority of today’s football professionals drink little to no alcohol and are in bed by 11 p.m. at the latest.”

At FCZ there was no pressure from the fans

Despite the winning streak, FCZ fans are reluctant to criticize the players. “The South Curve gave us a championship bonus and always supported us. That was meant very kindly, but in retrospect it may not have been an advantage,” says Aliti.

The leading players realized that the change had to come from within. Captain Brecher, Dzemaili, Marchesano and he often sat together, Aliti reveals. They examined individual teammates and tried to explain to the newcomers the importance of the FCZ. “We knew we had to make a change,” Aliti said. Cohesion must be promoted. The team went out to dinner together. “You can do that exactly once if it doesn’t work.”

Only the change of coach will bring about a turnaround

It didn’t work at FCZ. Only with the change of coach from Franco Foda to Bo Henriksen could the idea be reversed. “That was the wake-up call we needed. There was a huge shock through the team,” says Aliti. On the one hand this has to do with the Dane’s motivational character, on the other hand it has to do with the fact that hierarchies have been torn apart with a new coach. “Everyone knew that the cards would be reshuffled and gave full throttle. The training intensity was suddenly much higher.”

An effect that is also hoped for in Basel in the second attempt. After Timo Schultz, Heiko Vogel was the second coach to be fired. Fabio Celestini has been in power since Tuesday.

Unlike FCB today, FCZ still plays the European way. The opponents are Bodö, PSV Eindhoven or Arsenal. The balancing act between desire for the euro and frustration with the competition is enormous. “Those were very intense weeks,” says Aliti.

On 30 October, the champions achieved their first league victory with a 1–0 victory against Sion in the 14th round. Aliti hopes that Basel will also achieve a turnaround as soon as possible. On the one hand because he comes from Basel and is a former FCB junior. “I was in the stadium at FCB’s big European nights, sometimes even as a ball boy or drop-in kid.” On the other hand, because he believes that the Super League needs a strong FCB. Also the FCZ. «The rivalry between FCZ and FCB is one of the biggest in Super League. The clubs need each other.”

Source : Blick