At Euro 2024, Nico Elvedi was one of the big losers for the national team. He has since played his way back into the starting eleven. Now Elvedi looks back on the difficult time and talks about his relationship with Yakin.
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- After a difficult year and a half, Nico Elvedi is back in the Swiss national team.
- Ahead of the important World Cup qualifiers in Sweden and Slovenia, the central defender explains that he has also found new strength with the help of a nutritionist.
- Things are not going well for Gladbach at the moment, but Elvedi still feels at home at Borussia after ten years. He is also on the verge of a club record.
Nico Elvedi did not play a single minute on the pitch at Euro 2024. When Fabian Schär retired from the national team afterwards, Elvedi was seen as the logical partner alongside Manuel Akanji. However, Murat Yakin began to tinker after the Zurich player's poor performances in the Nations League. He brought in Aurèle Amenda, Stefan Gartenmann, Eray Cömert, Cedric Zesiger and Gregory Wüthrich in central defense.
"It wasn't an easy year," said Elvedi back in September. But it now seems to have been forgotten. At the start of the World Cup qualifiers, Murat Yakin once again placed his full trust in the Gladbach mercenary. And Elvedi repaid the trust with good performances against Kosovo and Slovenia. Switzerland won both games outright, and the defender even scored a goal against Slovenia.
"It couldn't have gone any better. I'm personally very happy that I was able to get back on the pitch and that the coach had confidence in me," says Elvedi ahead of the important away games against Sweden and Slovenia.
However, he also makes no secret of the fact that he was unhappy with his situation last year. "As a footballer, you're never happy when you're not playing. A lot of things went against me in the Nations League. I was suspended twice, scored an own goal and then wasn't allowed to play in March. I was really disappointed."
Back in the starting eleven with a changed diet
Nevertheless, the talks with Murat Yakin were always good. "He told me that I should keep working on myself. He was always positive and said that I would be back soon. Now I'm happy that he's backing me again. I think it's working quite well."
Yakin seems to have taken Elvedi's words to heart. He has been working with a nutritionist for some time now. "At first it was about losing some weight. I didn't feel so good in my body after the European Championships," explains Elvedi. "I didn't feel in top shape and wanted to change something."
Since this summer, he has also had an athletics trainer in his team, with whom he has also built up muscle mass. "It harmonizes well and is well coordinated. I feel extremely well and also have more energy. That has paid off."
Difficult time in Gladbach - despite record
Elvedi is doing well in the national team, but less so at the club. After six games this season, Gladbach are still waiting for their first win in the Bundesliga and are in a relegation spot. "It's not an easy time, the coach (Gerardo Seoane) and sporting director (Roland Virkus) are gone. But we have a good team and a few injured players. When they return, I'm convinced we'll be able to get the points."
Elvedi can still be proud after the start to the season. With 335 appearances in a Borussia shirt, he has now overtaken Yann Sommer as the foreigner with the most games for Gladbach. With 291 Bundesliga games, he will also soon replace Sommer as the Swiss player with the most appearances in Germany's top league.
After flirting with a move several times in the past, the 29-year-old remained loyal to Gladbach this summer. "I've been there ten years now and feel very comfortable. It's fun with the fans, even if things could be going a bit better in sporting terms at the moment," he says. His contract runs until 2027. "I'm not thinking at all about a possible move at the moment."
His focus is fully on the national team at the moment anyway. "The most difficult game of this qualifying campaign" awaits them on Friday with the away game in Sweden, as Elvedi says. "We have to go into the game focused and deliver our performance."
