“This is about something bigger than this one game”

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It just bubbles out of Marisa Wunderlin (35) when she talks about football. The 35-year-old is the face and identifier of St. Gallen’s Women’s Section. “For us in the team, it’s about something bigger than just this one game.” First of all, she is happy that the players have been rewarded with a place in the cup final and that they can experience another highlight. “Because you only learn to deal with pressure in games where you are under pressure.”

Wunderlin worked four years under Nils Nielsen (51) as assistant coach of the national team. At the end of the year she left the association to devote herself entirely to the project in Eastern Switzerland. She has extended her contract with the club indefinitely. “It shows mutual trust, but also gives both parties freedom.” If she got tired one day, she would have to breathe. “I need this flexibility.”

“I think I understand the players better here”

Wunderlin, who grew up in the Sankt Georgen district, feels at home in her homeland. “I imagine I understand the players in eastern Switzerland better than in other places. The team is really cool. That doesn’t mean everything is always easy, but it’s the kind of people and characters that bring me joy.”

At FCSG there is perspective. The project is long-term and sustainable. The players, the club, the women’s section, they should all “grow organically,” says Wunderlin. There is a clear business plan in which all departments of the association are integrated and which is reviewed monthly.

Player can leave at night

The current phase involves, among other things, optimizing the infrastructure and training conditions. Previous training times. Better lawn care. A strength and physio room in Espenmoos, where the women play and train. “We are in the middle of a process,” says Wunderlin. The next step would be to improve the terms and conditions of the players. Efforts are being made to reduce the workload. A player can currently leave the club overnight, as Sarina Heeb (20) recently moved to the Bundesliga. No fees will be charged. That also makes planning difficult.

That this progress will happen for everyone within one to two years is a pipe dream, says Wunderlin. But it is the medium term goal. The short term is the cup final against Servette Chênois, the winner of the league qualifier. “Servette wins more of the ten games than we do, but we are mentally stronger, defend with solidarity and can score pinpricks with runs in depth,” says Wunderlin. “It can be frustrating to play against us.” If that succeeds against Servette, the women from St. Gallen can do what the men have been denied for the past two years: bring the cup to eastern Switzerland.

Source : Blick