Admir Mehmedi and Fabian Frei talk about the fascination of the Champions League in the football talk Heimspiel. It becomes more than clear: there is nothing greater for a footballer at club level.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The newly created league phase of the Champions League gets underway on Tuesday. YB will face Aston Villa in the opener.
- In the football talk Heimspiel, Admir Mehmedi and Fabian Frei go into raptures when they think back to their own performances in the Champions League.
- The two former Nati colleagues agree that playing in the top flight is a dream come true for every footballer.
- blue Sport shows all Champions League matches live.
YB will face eight different opponents in the newly created league phase of the Champions League. Tough opponents await the Swiss champions, including Barcelona, Inter Milan, Stuttgart and Aston Villa in the opener on Tuesday(from 18:10 on blue Sport).
Mehmedi: "The highest of emotions"
But what makes the Champions League so fascinating? When asked about this in the football talk show Heimspiel, former national team player and current blue Sport expert Admir Mehmedi says: "This is THE club competition. When you hear the anthem, it's the highest of emotions. You give everything to qualify. From my own experience as a player, I can say that when you hear the anthem, you get goosebumps. Because that really is the highest level you can compete at."
He didn't play in the Champions League that often, but it was something very special every time, said Mehmedi: "In every one of my 15 games, I had goosebumps when I heard the anthem. Because as a little kid, you dream of one day being able to play on that stage."
The fact that the Champions League anthem has been slightly adapted will certainly not change that. You can only tell the difference with musically trained ears anyway.
Frei: "It never gets boring, it's like a championship celebration"
Fabian Frei has 26 Champions League games under his belt. But even he has never got used to it and compares appearances in the premier class to a championship celebration. "It never gets boring." And what goes through your mind when you stand on the pitch and hear the anthem? "I don't think you think, you just enjoy it." Even as a child, he was a keen follower of the Champions League, with Stéphane Chapuisat's triumph with Dortmund in 1997 being particularly memorable.
Frei and Mehmedi comment on their goals
In his 26 Champions League games, not counting qualifying matches, Frei has scored four goals and set up four others. Ex-professional Mehmedi has scored five goals and provided one assist in 15 games. In the football talk Heimspiel, the two comment on two of their goals each. The memories are still very clear, almost as if it were yesterday. Just Champions League. Simply unforgettable.
