Fischer before the Nati season: “A blockage we can solve”

class=”sc-29f61514-0 dXbCZE”>

Patrick Fischer, how does the national coach deal with disappointments? It feels like an eternity until the next serious fight, maybe a little longer. “I recently said to Murat Yakin: I don’t want to be in your shoes, you have to wait four years for the next World Cup, I only have to wait one. As a national coach, I obviously have to be more patient than a club coach who can intervene at any time.

But how did the 2018 number two cope with the defeats in the last quarter-finals? “The key question is: are we getting better? Everything is a process. In recent years the focus has continued to change: the fitness of the players, the tactical balance, the intensity of the duels, how to deal with leadership. We are currently looking at the meaning of the role of favorite and its effects.”

The assessment that the Swiss national team is actually improving reflects a perception that is acceptable to the majority. Nowadays, group stages without defeats are almost simply accepted as such; just ten years ago these were sensational reports. Only the final step, the seamless continuation of the group stage in the knockout matches, has not yet been taken.

Fischer wants to claim Rolle as one of the favorites

“We have won thirteen of the fourteen group matches in the past two years, but lost both quarter-finals.” Fischer uses the results bulletin as it sheds light on the national team’s current problem. Anyone who can beat everyone in the group stage should also be able to do so in a knockout match. “We have a blockage, the ease in these games is suddenly gone.”

The top countries react differently to the knockout round spotlight; for them it really begins. “It is this step that is the most difficult to manage. We have the mandatory wins under control, we are dominant in the group stage and we follow our style – but when it comes to the sausage, we think about what could happen in the worst case.

And how do you deal with that as a trainer? ‘We’re making a problem out of it. We have individual players who can do it, but as a team we are obviously not there yet. We don’t want to return to the role of outsider just because it is easier. The ice hockey world sees us as one of the favorites, we deserve that. Now we can find a way to deal with it. The biggest step is performing when the challenge is greatest.”

Why doesn’t it work against the Germans?

In the past three years, the national team has lost two out of three quarter-finals to Germany. Are they above us? Do we have a complex? What’s going on, Mr. Fischer? “We see the story behind the opponent, instead of just the opponent. German NHL defenseman Moritz Seider told me so “It’s morbidly easy for them” because all of Switzerland feels like the clear favorite against Germany.” That may be somewhat put into perspective with the second title last spring. Yet many Swiss think that they must be superior to the Germans in ice hockey.

This goes into depth psychology. The Germans are like the big brother who triggers us with their self-confidence. You may think he should shut up, but secretly you wish you were like him. «At this point you think too much and you lose your lightness, along with your joy of playing and ultimately your controlled aggressiveness. You’re already blocking yourself. Even if before a game like this I say, go out and play, if we lose, I’m responsible.”

As an accompanying measure, Fischer called up almost only possible World Cup participants for the Karjala Cup. In addition to the NHL stars, there are a few injured players or players who are still a bit behind. “We test the players and will create situations during training where mistakes are prohibited. That means pressure, and we have to deal with it and get used to it. We want to know who can perform under sometimes unfavorable circumstances.”

Source : Blick