St. Gallen defy the long deficit and win the Swiss Cup final against Stade Lausanne-Ouchy 3:0. One player in particular is relieved afterwards.
24.05.2026, 18:21
24.05.2026, 18:30
SDA
A sea of jubilation in green and white, the end of a long dry spell. Nothing less than this, only the fourth title in the club's 147-year history and the first since winning the championship in 2000, was what the thousands of FC St. Gallen fans who had traveled with them wanted. Their wish was to be granted. But they had to suffer, which makes the triumph all the sweeter.
"I know how much this cup victory means to people," said president Matthias Hüppi. Lukas Görtler had a similar sentiment: "It's incredible. I've been here twice before, and I cried at the end each time because it wasn't enough," said the captain. "I really wanted it. The whole region deserves this title so much after this season."
"Everyone said they'd pull it off for me"
Probably nobody in the sold-out Wankdorf with 30,671 spectators was more relieved than Lukas Watkowiak after the final whistle. Wearing sunglasses and without a jersey, the 30-year-old German celebrated in front of the St. Gallen curve. He was the first to walk through the trellis formed by the defeated Stade Lausanne-Ouchy players to receive the trophy. He could have been the tragic figure of this 101st Cup final. But the red card, which he carelessly picked up just before the break with a blackout, was to have no consequences.
"I hurt the team with the red card," the red card offender later admitted. "But everyone came to me during the break and told me they'd pull it off for me now." After all, he had "saved the team's ass twice in penalty shoot-outs during the Cup, now they've saved my ass. We are simply a great team". In the 2nd round against Wil and in the round of 16 against Rapperswil-Jona, the St. Gallen Cup story could have ended prematurely. Both times, Watkowiak led his team into the next round by saving two penalties.
"You don't play finals, you win finals"
Like Basel in the previous year against lower-ranked Biel, St. Gallen also had to bite against the fourth-placed team in the Challenge League. As in the previous year (4:1), the result was a clear verdict in favor of the favorites. Strong tackling and defensive stability not only made them forget their numerical disadvantage, but also their lack of cold-bloodedness in front of goal. Coach Enrico Maassen said: "Even if we didn't do everything perfectly: you don't play finals, you win finals." They were clearly the better team, even with one man less.
And so Lukas Görtler lifted the almost 7-kilogram Sandoz trophy into the Bernese afternoon sky at the third attempt. Green and white confetti shot out of the cannons. And the St. Gallen supporters in the stands were in each other's arms.
