“I can’t take the amount of criticism anymore”

class=”sc-3778e872-0 gWjAEa”>

Blick: Philipp Bonorand, you retire at the end of the season because you no longer have enough energy to be FCA president. How is that expressed?
Phillip Bonorand: Since the dismissal of trainer Stephan Keller in November, things have happened that really affect me. To begin with, I was actually against Keller’s firing, but I couldn’t ignore the team’s opinion. Two weeks ago we said goodbye to our general manager Roland Baumgartner, sporting director Sandro Burki and I have shared his duties ever since. I’ve been working non-stop for almost a month now. Besides FC Aarau, which I run in my spare time, I run a company with more than 100 full-time employees. The body has rebelled in recent days: with a headache, irritability – I can no longer relax, function alone instead of enjoying work. It couldn’t go on like this, I have to get out of here. What I need in the coming days is distance and rest. Of course, it is currently not easy to find them in all the work that remains to be done.

In “Blick-Kick”, Markus Babbel said he would think it wrong to resign because of the fan riots over the weekend. Now it seems like that’s why you’re leaving.
I understand what Babbel meant. But he doesn’t know me and the fans and FC Aarau well enough to judge that. The fans certainly didn’t want me to put up with their behavior. I noticed that in their reactions to the dismissal. Nevertheless, I condemn the riots in the strongest possible terms. They were the last straw for me and in the end they were the last piece of the puzzle for my decision. As I said, a lot had already happened that worried me and questioned my values.

What exactly?
Expectations around FC Aarau are not realistic. Past successes are still the benchmark for many. But the national title in 1993 and the cup win in 1985 were one-off highlights and football has changed enormously since then. From the point of view of FCA, the distance to the big clubs has become much greater. Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding and knowledge of what is realistic and achievable for a club like FC Aarau.

But the club management announced promotion to goal at the beginning of the season…
There are several clubs in the Challenge League that are financially the same age as us – people just don’t realize it. After last season, where we were not promoted due to a goal, if we had not supported the Super League goal with an extra promotion place given the current situation, we would have been criticized for it. FC Aarau made a lot of effort to promote last season and this season. Now that’s almost certainly not going to work – and yes, that’s disappointing. But we will not be relegated and we are a healthy club, so I don’t understand the seriousness of the criticism.

Do presidents of football clubs have a thankless job?
Certainly not grateful. I really enjoyed my job, it was very interesting because it brought me into contact with many interesting people. The other side is: you work a lot and for free, you offer financial support when you need it and then you get so much criticism that I can’t deal with it anymore. Others may handle it better, but it certainly takes a lot of idealism. It’s no coincidence that people don’t line up for these jobs.

How’s it going from here?
A successor must be found. I don’t have the resources for this myself at the moment, and based on my own experience, I’m probably not the best advertising medium for people with a profile similar to mine at the moment. In the club you have to make a decision: do you want someone to volunteer again or, as in St. Gallen, Thun or Lucerne, do you want a full-time chairman who also fulfills the role of CEO. In my opinion, such modern models should also be explored for the future of FC Aarau.

Source : Blick