Jan Cadieux appears in front of the media for the first time as national team coach before the test games against Hungary. He talks about the Fischer bang, Roman Josi's letter to the federation and the Lian Bichsel case.
One week after his debut as national team coach, Jan Cadieux speaks publicly for the first time about the turbulent days in a media round table with around 25 media representatives in Biel's Tissot Arena.
"It's difficult, because I wasn't ready for it. Last Wednesday, nobody on the staff or in the team was ready for it. Everyone was very surprised that it happened like this. But in the end, you can be scared in life or say: 'I'm going to do the best I can to get everything out of this situation'. I'm concentrating on the boys and giving everything for this team," says the 46-year-old, who has already been Patrick Fischer's assistant for the last two seasons.
He will bring his energy to the team and build on Fischer's previous work. At the World Championships, no Fischer or Cadieux field hockey will be played, but the best possible field hockey for this team. Cadieux is also sticking to his predecessor's decision to exclude Lian Bichsel from the national team until after this home World Championship.
Roman Josi's letter
There was a lot of discussion within the team last week. "What do you think? We also talk to each other. Everyone has their opinion here too - and they should say it," says Tristan Scherwey. The communication wires were running hot. The NHL players were connected from overseas. They got involved, as leaders should. There may have been a plan to write a joint statement. The diversity of opinions did not allow for this. This resulted in a letter of protest written by captain Roman Josi at the weekend.
This letter, in which Josi calls on the ice hockey association to review the dismissal of the coach and "is intended exclusively for internal use" (quote from Josi's letter), was leaked to the media on Tuesday - and caused discussion not only in the media landscape, but also within the team.
"Many different things were discussed. In a team with different characters and people, there are different opinions and they differ," says ZSC forward Sven Andrighetto, adding: "That's normal. In no team does everyone have the same opinion. Nevertheless, it's respectful and as a team you find a common path."
The new national team coach Jan Cadieux is relaxed about Josi's initiative: "We discussed the affair a lot last week in Slovakia, including with the players from the NHL. I knew about Josi's plans. He assured me personally that the statements in the letter were not directed at me."
