Thanks to psychological tricks in the semi-final: don’t be afraid of the bad Germans!

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When it came to the sausage, the Swiss national team always fell by the wayside against Germany in recent years. It is now 31 years since they last won a knockout match against their neighbours, when Switzerland defeated Prague 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the 1992 World Cup.

Since then, three bankruptcies against Germany have left deep scars in the Swiss hockey soul.

• Mannheim 2010: Switzerland dream of their first medal since 1953. Then they lose 1-0 to the hosts in the quarter-finals. Andres Ambuhl (39) is the only one left from that time.
• Pyeongchang 2018: The dream of an Olympic medal is shattered after just 26 seconds of extra time in the pre-quarter-finals as Yannic Seidenberg beats Jonas Hiller to make it 2-1. It is the Germans who come home with silver.
• Riga 2021: The Swiss lead 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. But then they lose heart. It came as it should: Germany equalized with Gawanke 44 seconds before the long-awaited end to make it 2-2. In the penalty shootout, only Meier hits for the Swiss. Nine Swiss from the team from then are back in Riga today.

Is it to be feared that this has led to trauma among the Swiss? German striker Marcel Noebels has tried mind games: “I’m looking forward to the game and I don’t think the Swiss are up for it.” Nati striker Fabrice Herzog, who was on the ice in 2018 and 2021, does not want to know anything about it: “Two years ago we were eliminated on penalties. That’s why I’m looking forward to the revenge.”

Nino Niederreiter (30) is unencumbered. It will be the first serious fight against Germany for the NHL striker. “We know how hard they play. You know it’s going to be tough and they want to physically destroy our game,” says the national captain. “But if we play the way we know we can, it certainly looks very good The recipe of the Churer in the service of the Winnipeg Jets: “It doesn’t matter if it’s the Germans, the Finns or any other people. We have to focus on ourselves. The most important thing is that we keep to ourselves and don’t look too much at who’s on the other side.”

“Getting the game plan into people’s minds and hearts”

The duel against the Germans also becomes a matter of the mind. What do experts say about this? “Patrick Fischer should have learned lessons from the defeats against Germany and formulated a game plan. It is important to get this into the minds and hearts of the players,” replies Hanspeter Gubelmann (59) from ETH Zurich, who, among others, Simon Ammann once helped to reach heights. “The following aspects are probably decisive: Reflection on one’s own strength and possibilities. Team spirit – everyone supports everyone, especially in situations where mistakes are made. Positive emotions.” In addition, it is important to pay special attention to the key players and team leaders in one-on-one conversations.

Mental coach Arne Ramholt (47), former NL player and champion of 2005 with Davos, is not worried that the Nati could be afraid of the Germans after the bad experiences of the last knockout duels: “It is more that You have to make sure you go into the game with the necessary respect and that you play against the Germans in exactly the same way as against one of the top countries like Canada, Sweden or Finland. You shouldn’t feel like we have to beat them.”

The former defender emphasizes that the players who are in the national team are “all top professionals who have shown in their clubs that they can handle pressure”.

Don’t be afraid of the bad Germans! Despite the dark history, if the Swiss could have chosen an opponent, they would have preferred the Germans to the US, Sweden or Finland. If everything is right in the heads of the Swiss today, the semi-finals of the World Cup beckon.

Source : Blick