They are the two big unknowns in the Swiss national team: defenders Lucas Blondel and Stefan Gartenmann talk about their "second home" and what they associate with it.
20.03.2025, 06:00
20.03.2025, 10:39
SDA
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- Lucas Blondel spent the first years of his life in Switzerland. His memories are vague, however, with raclette and Xamax spontaneously coming to mind.
- Blondel plays for Boca Juniors and says that he has always dreamed of playing for the national team. "I hope that I can impress with my attacking play on the wing."
- Stefan Gartenmann grew up in Denmark, but spent his vacations at Lake Constance. He says of himself: "I'm an old-school defender. Not particularly fast, not particularly strong, but very effective."
- For assistant coach Davide Callà, it is clear that both can be an asset to the national team. "I've got to know two lads who have a great desire to play football. They are also very proud to be here."
Raclette and Neuchâtel Xamax: that's what Lucas Blondel remembers when he thinks about his time in Switzerland. Unlike Gartenmann, he not only spent his vacations in Switzerland, but also the first years of his life. However, his memories of this time are vague. His father was born in Neuchâtel and was a big Xamax fan. So the young Lucas also came into contact with the Red & Blacks at an early age. And the raclette even accompanied him to Argentina, when the family decided to settle in his mother's country. They used to have a raclette oven, but unfortunately he hadn't eaten one for a long time.
Like his father Jean-Yves, who made it to 546th place in the ATP world rankings, Lucas Blondel also played tennis in his youth. Until he was 13 or 14 years old, Blondel remembers, then he had had enough. "I got annoyed with myself far too often and kept losing my nerve. That's when I realized that I'd rather play team sports."
From Atlético de Rafaela via Tigre, he joined Boca Juniors, one of the most famous clubs in the world, in 2023. There he plays in the Bombanera in front of a good 50,000 fans. When asked to talk about the atmosphere, Blondel just shakes his head. That would be impossible. "You have to experience it to understand it."
He had been in contact with Murat Yakin for some time. Even before the European Championship in Germany, there was talk that Blondel could at least be part of the extended squad. But then he tore his cruciate ligament and was out for a long time. Now he will also get the chance to show himself in the national team. He is happy to accept the 24-hour journey - and would do so again in the future. "I've always dreamed of this," says the 28-year-old right-back, who, like Gartenmann, speaks very good French. "I hope that I can impress with my attacking play on the wing."
Gartenmann: "I'm an old-school defender"
A big house on Lake Constance: that's what Stefan Gartenmann remembers when he thinks back to his time in Switzerland. The family always got together during the fall vacations - Gartenmann remembers a good 20 people - to enjoy time together. For his grandfather, the vacations were a homecoming after he had left Amlikon-Bissegg in Thurgau to work as a cheesemaker in Denmark. For the young Stefan, it was a place that always remained in his heart.
However, he would never have imagined that a good 20 years later he would be wearing the Swiss cross on his jersey. Gartenmann completed his entire football education in Denmark, played a good 30 games in the various U-teams, but then it suddenly came to an end. Gartenmann waited in vain for a call-up to the senior team. Perhaps because he is "not a pretty footballer", the 28-year-old suspects. His agent always compared him to Jaap Stam during negotiations. Gartenmann has internalized this: "I'm an old-school defender. Not particularly fast, not particularly strong, but very effective."
The comparison with Stam, born in 1972, seems to have hit the mark with Murat Yakin, born in 1974. When he was contacted by Gartenmann's agent last year and made aware of his Swiss roots, the Swiss national coach traveled to Budapest shortly afterwards to visit Gartenmann at his club Ferencvaros.
Now the central defender is sitting in a pavilion in Almancil and talking to the Swiss media. He does so in very good German. He first picked up the language while watching cartoons with his grandparents, learned it at school and now wants to improve it even further. "Switzerland is my second home. The fact that I get the chance to show myself in the national team here means a lot to me and my family."
"You can be an asset"
The serene Dane on the one hand, the hot-blooded Argentinian on the other. Both share their Swiss roots. For assistant coach Davide Callà, it is clear that both can be an asset to the national team. "I've got to know two guys who have a great desire to play football. They are also very proud to be here." Having grown up in Switzerland as the child of Italian parents, he knows exactly what it's like to have several hearts in your chest. "Their story also reflects a bit of today's connected world. You can be at home anywhere and rooted in several places."
Like all newcomers, Gartenmann and Blondel had the choice of buying their teammates an aperitif or singing them a song. Blondel sang something by the Argentinian rock band Los Piojos, while Gartenmann opted for "Hey, Baby" by DJ Ötzi. A welcoming ritual designed to bring the players closer together and create a good atmosphere. Both Gartenmann and Blondel say that although they were a little overwhelmed by the many experiences, they were also very well received. They are determined to make the most of the opportunity to represent their second home country.
