Brushed in the semis on a riot?

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Is the palmares of national coach Patrick Fischer unsatisfactory? Since the Zuger put “the hypocritical goal of the quarter-finals” on the index in November 2021, the Swiss national team has always finished the job exactly in the quarter-finals. Critics therefore accuse Fischer of not meeting his own standards. From a purely mathematical point of view, this is correct, because international tournaments always produce at least one real result: the result bulletin.

At the time, Fischer’s goal correction was not due to cockiness or overconfidence, but the disappointment over the quarter-finals lost to Germany the previous spring resonated in the subtext. Not the defeat itself, but the way it was played: In a kind of flashback, Switzerland suddenly played cynical, defensive scare hockey and lost after taking the lead in a penalty shootout.

Rejuvenation treatment – ​​​​or rather a rejuvenation treatment?

The 47-year-old Fischer does not want to be responsible for underdog hockey. In the old days, anecdotally, a great man could be wrong-footed when the stars were favorable. Fischer wants a Nati that causes a stir. His basic idea of ​​enthusiasm, guts and creativity suddenly became ironic in that quarterfinal in the spring of 2021. Months later, he revised the goal upwards and began a process that, according to the official statement, initiated a “rejuvenation cure” in view of the 2026 Olympics. Players who were among the leaders when Switzerland lost in the spring of 2021 of Germany fell victim to this move.

Perhaps the term “fresh cell cure” could have better described Fischer’s request, because afterwards players were also called up who should hardly be eligible for the 2026 Olympics due to their age. The corrected goals and the process of renewal – the rejuvenation – are almost certainly under one roof. Fischer and his staff probably looked for triggers for the panic attack in this 2021 quarter-final with the microscope and then analyzed the behavior of the players with surgical precision.

NHL stars don’t want to play underdog hockey

Would he have had any other choice? The NHL reinforcements express themselves in a committed manner when asked about goal setting. “World champion” or at least “we want a medal” is what you hear. What you don’t hear from them is: Quarterfinals. The NHL players are role models, cultivated in an aggressive environment with the highest standards of creativity, technique, mobility and resilience. Would you like to participate in the World Cup with a national team that completely forgoes fun?

If you want to get to the semifinals, you have to get to the quarterfinals first

Defensively terrifying hockey and being the outsider with nothing to lose are no longer part of this country’s DNA. That does not mean that no more games are lost. A year ago, the Nati won all their matches in Finland – except the quarter-final against the US. The team played below their level, made too many mistakes – but they never played terrifying hockey. Fischer prefers the well-arranged demise with flying colors to a hesitant, miserable defeat under the motto “just don’t make mistakes”.

For this reason, one can contradict Fischer’s critics, even if they are of course right from a purely mathematical point of view: Fischer has finally dispelled the national team’s conservativeness, regardless of the final tables and world rankings (Switzerland is currently ranked 7th). When in doubt, the only thing that speaks for him is that he does not look for empty phrases or excuses when criticizing maneuvers. He not only demands courage and enthusiasm from his players on the ice.

The 2023 World Championship is Fischer’s ninth tournament. His record is: runner-up once, seven quarterfinals, two quarterfinals missed. Recently, the team was in the top eight five times in a row. Again and again this quarterfinal. In the context of the Swiss national team, he is still indispensable, even if Fischer does not want to talk about goal setting in this context. If you want to win the quarterfinals, you have to reach them first. If Fischer misses this goal, which shouldn’t be a goal at all, his record will be unsatisfactory. At least in the snapshot.

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.