YB coach in an exclusive interview Rahmen: "I proved in Basel that I can be the right person"
After a challenging season, which nevertheless ended with winning the championship, YB is tackling the mission of defending the title with a new coach. This is what Patrick Rahmen and Christoph Spycher have to say ahead of the season opener.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Despite winning the league title last season, YB are starting the season with a new coach. Patrick Rahmen should ensure that Bern's dominance continues.
- In an interview with blue Sport, YB boss Christoph Spycher and the new coach talk about the reasons behind the agreement. "Patrick has the experience to develop players. This is always a key issue for a club like YB," Spycher clarifies.
- A major challenge for Rahmen is that he will probably not know his definitive squad for some time yet. "Of course, there may also be departures. As a coach, I have to live with that," says the 55-year-old.
On the penultimate matchday of the past season, Young Boys clinched everything in the direct duel with Servette and were crowned Swiss champions ahead of time. And yet not everything went according to plan for Bern last season.
"It was a season that presented us with various challenges. It's normal that there are ups and downs from time to time, that there are phases when there are more problems to overcome," says Christoph Spycher in an interview with blue Sport and emphasizes: "A strong club is characterized by being able to overcome these problems. We have managed to do that."
However, the sporting management pulled the ripcord at the beginning of March and released Raphael Wicky. Fireman Joël Magnin then leads the team to the championship, but must nevertheless vacate his position at the end of the season and is replaced by Patrick Rahmen.
Several reasons speak in favor of Rahmen
"Patrick has done an outstanding job in recent years and has had various jobs," says Spycher, praising his new boss on the touchline and explaining his choice of coach: "He has a very large repertoire and a wealth of experience. In our discussions, we realized that his and our idea of football are very close. And he has the experience of how to develop players. That is always a key issue for a club like YB - alongside sporting success."
Rahmen doesn't have to think twice during and after the talks either, as he reveals in an interview with blue Sport. "The interest and the size of the club are appealing. YB is a traditional club," says the 55-year-old and approaches the new task with a great deal of self-confidence: "It is of course a big challenge after the last few years, which have been very successful. The championship title will be in demand again. But I was able to prove in Basel that I can be the right person for a big club with high expectations."
The ex-Winterthur coach is also convinced that his style of play is ideally suited to his new employer. "The way we played at all the clubs I managed is what people want to see here too. That's one reason why I ended up in Bern," says Rahmen. Spycher agrees: "YB always wants to stand for attacking and dynamic football. We want to be dominant." That should also be the approach in the new season. "It's clear that we won't always succeed. But Patrick also wants to play such dominant and attacking football."
"As a Swiss club, you never know when you'll have the definitive squad"
At least the start has been a success. "Settling in has been quick," says Rahmen and reports on intensive initial training sessions. However, he had to wait a long time for the players who were in their national teams. "Of course, I would have preferred to have had them right from the start. Now we've only been working together for 10 days."
It is also currently unclear whether the current squad will be the same as the one for the coming season. "The transfer window is still long. We'll see if there's anything we can do," says Rahmen and is aware: "Of course there could be departures. I have to live with that as a coach."
"As a Swiss club, you never know when you'll have the definitive squad together, because the transfer merry-go-round can still turn," adds Spycher. At the same time, this also gives Bern the opportunity to react after the first competitive matches. However, Spycher does not want to make this dependent on the outcome of the Champions League qualifiers: "We want to have a team that can win the title in Switzerland and set European highlights. But that's independent of whether you're in the Champions League or the Europa League."
