Steffen and Saipi clash in Lucerne

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For Lugano, the Sunday trip to Central Switzerland did not start well. After almost half an hour, the Ticino are lagging behind after a corner. And then there is internal turmoil. While Lucerne celebrates, goalkeeper Amir Saipi and striker Renato Steffen engage in a heated battle of words on the pitch.

The keeper was too passive for the striker in this action. “I had the impression that with his size he could have snatched the ball out of the air,” explains Steffen. He informed him that. But Saipi doesn’t take the criticism and responds loudly. And ten minutes later, when Lucerne scores and makes it 2-0, the goalkeeper makes the blabla gesture towards Steffen.

“We’re Hotheads”

But that is not everything. During the intermission, the discussion between the two continues. “Of course we kept talking about it in the dressing room,” says Saipi. Football isn’t always fun. “Sometimes you have to hit the table. This happened today. We’re two hotheads.”

The row and the half-time result could have broken Lugano’s neck. Instead, the Ticino team returned to the field as if they had changed and thanks to the system change from 3-4-3 to a 4-3-3, they tied the game. “Maybe a discussion was needed to wake everyone up,” says Saipi.

The waves are smoothed out

Coach Mattia Croci-Torti sees it that way too. “Sometimes such verbal fights are like gasoline.” He then defends his keeper and gives him advice at the same time. “Too often we tend to point the finger at Saipi when we make a mistake. That’s too easy. But if he wants to be a great goalkeeper, he has to learn to accept criticism without always giving it back.”

After the end of the game, everything is back in balance between the fighters. “When Renato scored the goal, he pointed his finger at me. That shows that we got along again,” said Saipi. Steffen sees it the same way. “I’m here to help the team at all levels. The most important thing is that we have everything in order. After all, it’s about Lugano’s success and not the individual’s.”

Source : Blick