Patrick Fischer has been at the helm of the Swiss national team for almost 10 years. On "Lässer", the Zug native looks back on difficult times and reveals why his dream of World Cup gold is still alive.
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- Nati coach Patrick Fischer is a guest of Claudia Lässer and talks about the difficult times at the beginning of the past year and the liberating blow at the World Championships in Prague in May.
- In the talk show, the 49-year-old explains how he and the team have managed to turn things around and why he still dreams of World Championship gold.
A year ago, Patrick Fischer and the Swiss ice hockey team were deep in crisis. After the disappointing World Championships in May 2023, where Switzerland was defeated by rivals Germany in the quarter-finals, of all places, the team suffered defeat after defeat during the Euro Hockey Tour. And the national team coach was criticized.
However, in mid-February - after 11 defeats in a row over the course of the season - the association sent out a strong signal and extended Fischer's contract ahead of schedule. It paid off. A good three months later, Fischer's protégés win silver at the World Championships in Prague.
Withstand the pressure - or break
Fischer looks back in the talk show "Lässer": "I had a difficult 2023 in my role as coach. There was a lot of pressure. 2024 was a liberating blow for us." However, the turnaround was no accident. "We knew as a team that we would struggle to perform when it really counted and there was no way out," says Fischer. "We had to accept that humbly. And the coach is always a mirror of the team. I'm very hard on myself in that respect."
That's why Fischer starts with himself: "I went into the ice bath every day, that was mental toughening for me. It was about enduring. Because when there's pressure, you break or you endure it." It was also about learning to love the pressure and the challenge. "We addressed that as a team to an extreme degree and looked for new ways."
The World Cup dream is alive
This includes working with performance coach Stefan Schwitter. "That was incredibly enriching for me as a coach and for the team," says Fischer, who emphasizes: "The team spirit is the biggest weapon. You don't build that up overnight. You have to approach it gently."
Interaction with one another is very important in the ice hockey team. Just like the awareness that success can only be achieved together. "Our mantra was: One Team, one Breath - so we breathe together. We are still a small country. But that's our secret weapon," says Fischer.
This helped Switzerland to silver at the World Championships last May - and perhaps a big coup in the future? "It's the dream of one day reaching the top of the mountain. It can be golden," emphasizes Fischer once again, wanting to prove to the younger generations what is possible when you stick together: "We Swiss haven't won that much in team sports yet. The dream goes on."
