Fabio Celestini: The coach with whom Basel wants to get out of the crisis: “I bought some players’ underwear”

Something he cannot say about his six-match interlude in Sion at the start of the year. The 48-year-old spoke to the media about his time in Valais, among other things. And surprised with the sentence: “In Zion I should have resigned after a week!” Not because of disagreements with President Christian Constantin. Every Friday he had coffee with him and discussed ideas for improvement. The relationship was characterized by the utmost respect.

Not the same values

«Constantin didn’t say a bad word about me after I left. That is as valuable as a trophy,” Celestini laughs – adding as a reason for the failure: “Many players did not have the same values ​​as me. Work, discipline, ambition, development – ​​that is what I stand for. Without these qualities I would not be the Swiss player with the most appearances in the Primera Division and would not have become a national player.”

Speaking of which, the son of Italian immigrants didn’t get his Swiss passport until he was 19. Because at the time the SFV really wanted the talented Lausanne junior in the national team. Does Celestini also feel Swiss? ‘I feel part of this world. I feel Swiss, Italian, Spanish, French and Panamanian – a little bit of everything.”

Price for football paid privately

Background: His ten-year-old daughter lives with Celestini’s ex-wife in Panama. This was the second marriage that ended. “I had to pay the price in my private life for my decision to play football. I can’t see my daughter when I want. Fortunately, I have a good relationship with my two sons.”

After his professional career (Lausanne, Troyes, Marseille, Getafe, Levante), he took his first job as head coach at parent club Lausanne-Sport. In the Challenge League. For the well-traveled cosmopolitan, Celestini was the deepest province. “It was difficult, there were no bibs, no hats. I bought a pair of players’ underwear for playing football.” Shortly after Ineos enters Lausanne, he is fired. Invalidated. Close to a burnout.

As a coach, the most vulnerable person at the club

Then Lugano, under President Angelo Renzetti, as Constantin, someone who tends to be choleric. «Special, but very respectable. “He cried during my discharge interview,” says Celestini, adding that he later had a good relationship with his superiors in Lucerne. “Except for the last session, which disappointed me.” He does not want to elaborate, but would rather say what he learned during his time at FCB: “That I am not Superman. As a coach I am the most vulnerable person within the club.”

Fragile – and that in the madhouse FCB. That has already consumed five coaches in the David Degen era (since 2021). How is the relationship with his new boss? «David speaks without a filter, says what he thinks. Better this way than wandering around. He is full of passion and is always very welcome at the trainer’s office.”

Basel as a top competition

Celestini then lists the advantages of FCB: “At the bottom of the table, we had 20,000 fans in the stadium against Yverdon. After each training session, four people mow the lawn. I said to my assistants: Basel is not Switzerland, it’s like a top competition. For the first time in my coaching career, I have everything I need here.”

Everything to ensure survival in the competition. At least Celestini already knows the formula to save FCB: “Football is mathematics. When the president, the coach, the players, the fans and the environment all move in the same direction, the goal is achieved. I guarantee it!”