The wrong bus driver upset Coach Simpson

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“I can’t believe it’s been ten years already. Those were the days when the quarter-finals were the goal. Switzerland had never won one. To reach the final was so unbelievable. That’s how we stay together for life concerned.

I had a gut feeling early on that something could be growing here. But I didn’t talk about it. The fact that we had won our first games against the great countries of Sweden, Canada and the Czech Republic inspired us. It was a great group with strong leaders. The mind was perfect. The win in the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic was a huge relief and we realized that we were going to play for a medal. The semi-final game against the USA was one of the best games ever. When I think back on these moments, I feel the emotions again.

Of so many I would like to mention three special memories. First my speech for the semi-final. My personal word for this World Cup was: special. It came up in every speech. It became a kind of good luck charm for me. I didn’t prepare the speech for the US game. The words came straight from the heart. I told the players it could be the game of their lives. I didn’t know that the video coach was recording the speech at the time. But it is still part of my lecture presentation today.

Then the national anthem. Because I noticed last year that not everyone was singing along, we practiced the lyrics and singing in the camps. I wanted everyone to proudly sing the national anthem. Before the first match, we got the news that the national anthem would not be played after the group matches, but only after the knockout matches. So after the victories we would stand in a circle in the locker room and sing the Swiss Psalm together.

And finally Stefan Grogg. I wanted the ex-national player, who had ALS a few years earlier, to be part of the team, he got a team suit. We showed the team a video of him before the tournament. It touched her, some had still played with him. At the World Cup there was a bulletin board in the hotel and in the cloakroom for his inspiring messages, which he emailed to me. Everyone has read them.

It has always been my dream to make my mark in my coaching career and make my mark on national teams and clubs. I passed.”

Sean Simpson (63) was the head coach of the Swiss national team from 2010 to 2014. He was also active in Swiss club hockey (Zug, ZSC, Kloten, Fribourg). Most recently, he moved up to Group A with the Hungary national team, of which he coached until 2022.

“Everyone is always talking about the silver year of the 2013 World Cup. When I think back, the first thing that strikes me is that we won nine games in a row. I appreciate this achievement the most.

Before leaving for the World Cup, coach Sean Simpson asked us why everyone thinks only about reaching the quarter-finals and why not even a medal. After winning the opening game against Sweden, the euphoria in Switzerland gained momentum. My father, who works as a locksmith, was allowed to watch our games in the shop.

However, we were in our own world. I shared the room with Roman Josi. We had fun, we often sang the song ‹Guantanamera› together, created new lyrics for it and recorded videos of us doing it. I was the youngest on the team, but got along with everyone. A friendship has developed with my strike partners Simon Moser and Martin Plüss.

What struck all the players at that tournament was coach Sean Simpson’s strong superstition. He had his rituals, for example he always walked exactly the same path. One change really upset him: we always had the same driver for our team bus. When a different bus driver suddenly got behind the wheel on a game day, Simpson made a big fuss about it and ranted until the driver was replaced by our usual driver.

Nino Niederreiter (30) is a star forward in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets. He is one of the few silver Nati heroes who was there in 2013 and 2018.

“When I think back on it, a great time comes to mind. The feelings were incomparable, the recognition enormous. However, I didn’t really realize what we had achieved until two or three years later.

I was involved in the preparation for the World Cup from the very beginning. We were a lot of young hungry players. I came off a disappointing season at Servette that I struggled through, didn’t get much ice time and was criticized. That’s why I didn’t expect to be in the World Cup squad at all.

That’s why I had already booked our holiday. My now wife Manuela and I wanted to fly to the US, drive from New York to Florida and treat ourselves to a cruise from there. But I stayed with the team week after week and we had to postpone the holidays.

At that time, Manuela was pregnant with our first daughter. Because I didn’t think I had a chance at the World Cup, I dared to ask Coach Simpson if I could accompany her to our first ultrasound. On a match day. Exceptionally, I was allowed. And so I drove from Lausanne to Bellinzona for a doctor’s appointment. That’s another reason why 2013 will always hold special memories for me, because Leonie was born a few months after winning silver.

In the team everything just fit together, especially on a personal level. That’s what made it so successful. What particularly impressed me was the exemplary behavior of substitutes such as Dario Bürgler, Thibaut Monnet and Tobias Stephan. They went along with that.

For me personally, maybe it went so well because I saw it all as a bonus after the failed championship. And so I scored a goal against the USA in my first World Cup semi-final. So I just had to use Moser’s good pass, I don’t have that many tricks up my sleeve. It was an incredible time.”

Julian Walker (36) participated in three World Cup tournaments. The attacker is currently under contract with HC Lugano.

“For me, that was one of the most perfect teams. The gears meshed. It showed what’s possible when everyone goes in the same direction. Each of us had a piece of the puzzle. At one point in the locker room, always before the warm-up, everyone used his piece and thus completed the map of Switzerland.In this group dynamic, each player became even better.

The moment of happiness after winning the semi-final against the USA was over. In retrospect, you might say that our goal of a medal was not precise enough. If I compare the attitude with which the national team entered the final game five years later: wanting to win gold.

After our last defeat against the Swedes, we were sad. It wasn’t until we were on the plane on the way home and discovered how many people were waiting for us at the airport that we realized our success.

During a car ride, I still get emotionally catapulted into this locker room from time to time. Because I still have the song on my playlist that our DJ Josi played before and after the games: ‘Ode to Oi’ by TJR. No one could sit still in their place.

There is also an anecdote to make you laugh: I had to buy an air mattress in Stockholm because I slept so badly in the hotel bed. I was used to a waterbed from home. When I put the air mattress under the other, I slept much better.”

Philippe Furrer (37) took part in six World Cup tournaments, last played four years for Fribourg and retired as a hockey professional in 2022. The former defender is now a partner in Immoseeker AG and an SRF hockey expert.

“When the World Cup started, I was still playing the NHL playoffs with Montreal. I followed the matches and results of the national team as best I could. I even saw the penalty win against Canada live on the team bus. After our play-off-out, I joined the team as the last substitute for the last two group games.

I immediately felt like I was part of a team with a run no one should break. And their routines that no one should disturb. I knew I had to adapt. It was about the team. Because I arrived so late, there was only one room left for me. That was something special to me. Five years later, on the other hand, at the silver medal of the 2018 World Championships, I was the oldest on the team and was happy to have a single room.

The most special moment for me was the medal ceremony. Of course we lost the final. But Switzerland hadn’t won a World Cup medal in so many decades, it was so overwhelming to see and get the medals.”

Friborg defender Raphael Diaz (37) was captain of the Swiss national team from 2016 to 2022.

Source : Blick

Emma

I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.